Book <H )*_ 

PRESENTED BY ^ t 



AURELIA'S BOOK. 




AURELIA G. MACE. 
" I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help." 



THE ALETHEIA: 



SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 



A SERIES OF LETTERS IN WHICH THE PRINCIPLES 
OF THE UNITED SOCIETY KNOWN AS SHAKERS 
ARE SET FORTH AND ILLUSTRATED. 



By AURELIA GQ MACE. 



God is our Infinite Mother ; She will hold us in her 
arms of blessedness and beauty forever and ever. 

Theodore Parker. 



SECOND EDITION. 



FARMINGTON, MAINE: 
PRESS OF THE KNOWLTON & McLEARY CO. 
1907. 



. M is 



Copyright, 1899, 
By Knowlton, McLeary & Company. 

Autho 
(Person) 

26 N or 




IP 96 031418 



TO 

-MY TEN," GEMS OF PRICELESS WORTH, 
I AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATE THIS 
BOOK. 

AURELIA. 



INTRODUCTION. 



With the object in view that the Shakers may become better 
known, this book is offered to the public. 

The first part comprises a series of letters that were pub- 
lished in The Messenger, a Bangor (Maine) paper, during the 
years 1883 an< ^ 1884. Then are inserted communications and 
short articles that have been published from time to time in the 
Shaker Manifesto. 

It is presumed that, by reading this book one can obtain a 
clear and correct idea of the Shakers' belief and manner of life, 
and of the rise and progress of the Societies. 

We have been with you more than one hundred years, and 
still are not understood. 

The mission of the Shaker is to live the pure life which 
Jesus lived and taught. Its meaning is to subdue and triumph 
over the animal nature in man, and to develop the spiritual 
nature. This is done by self-denial. The self-denial that the 
Prophet Daniel lived out, which made him the perfect man, 
greatly beloved, beautiful in form and feature, who could stand 
before the kings of the earth and confound them, and reveal 
what was hidden in the past and in the future. 

As a Society, we, at Sabbathday Lake, have for many years 
been struggling for an existence, believing that we have some- 
thing good and pure and beautiful to give unto the world when 



X 



INTRODUCTION. 



the world is able to receive it. " All cannot receive the saying. 
He that can receive it, let him receive it," said Jesus. The line 
is drawn and the life clearly defined. A man is a Shaker, or 
he is not. If he falls from the high standard, even in spirit, he 
ceases to be a Shaker until restored by the forgiving love of 
God. 

In the service of the Society I have been at the Poland 
Spring House many times during the past twenty years, and 
have received great kindness and consideration from the people 
I have met within its walls. I have taken note of the grand 
and beautiful life fortune bestows upon her favored ones. I 
have had intercourse with the cultured, the refined and learned, 
and have great respect for the noble class of people I meet 
here from year to year. It has been with great joy that I have 
received many favors in behalf of my people, for which I am 
ever mindful and grateful. 

Special thanks are due to the proprietors of the Poland 
Springs, also to Mrs. George Gregg, of Boston, Mass., and Mrs. 
J. Otis Swift, of Lewiston, Maine, for encouragement and assist- 
ance. 

With a sincere desire that some good and no harm may be 
the result, this work is respectfully submitted. 

A. 

March, 1899. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction, ........ 9 

Poem — Sabbathday Lake, . . . . . . 17 

Letter I. — Our Home at Sabbathday Lake, . . . 19 
Letter II. — The Duality of God — The Christ Spirit, . 22 

Letter III. — Question Answered by Question — Mother Ann 

Lee, . 25 

Letter IV. — W. D. Howells — Lafayette — Mother Ann's 

Voyage to America, . . . . 29 

Letter V. — Constellations — Aristotle — Eternal Punishment — 

The Good Prevailing, . . . . 33 

Letter VI. — The Three Cardinal Principles — Confession — 

Celibacy — Community of Interests, . . 37 
Letter VII. — The Atonement — The God of Moses — The 

God of Jesus, ...... 42 

Letter VIII. — New Centre Dwelling — School — Nathan Mer- 
rill and the Founders of the Society — Elder 
Otis Sawyer, ...... 45 

Letter IX. — Origin of the Shakers, . . . . 49 

Letter X. — Mother Ann's Persecutions in England, . 53 

Letter XI. — Royal's River — Noble Pioneers of the Town — 
First Shaker Meeting in New Gloucester — 
Elder Elisha Pote— Death of Elder Otis Saw- 
yer — Vision of Mother Ann, . . . 57 
Poem — In the Woods of Pine, . . , ... 62 



XII 



CONTENTS. 



Letter XII. — Protestation I, 63 

Letter XIII. — Protestation II, ...... 66 

Fathers and Mothers, an Hundred Fold Greeting, . 69 
The Christ of the Ages — Creeds — Baptism — The Eucharist 
— Equality of the Sexes — The Bible — The Arts 

and Sciences, . . . . . . . 71 

Thy Will be Done, ....... 75 

Angels of the New Dispensation, . . . . . 77 

Letter to the Editor of The Manifesto, . . . 79 

Tribute to Elder Giles B. Avery, . . . . 82 

Letter to Count Leo Tolstoi, ..... 84 

Jesus — Buddha — The Sermon on the Mount, . . . 86 
" The Shakers and their Homes," by Charles Edson Robinson, 88 

Address to the School at Sabbathday Lake, . . . 91 

Invocation, 93 

New Year's Greeting, ....... 95 

Winter, . . 97 

Visit to the Society at Alfred, . . . . . 100 

To the Cedars of Lebanon, . . . . . . 103 

Dedication at Poland Springs of the Maine State Build- 
ing — Also the Celebration of the Centennial 
of the Ricker Family as Hotel Proprietors 

in the town of Poland, Maine, . . . 105 
The Shaker Settlements of Canterbury and Enfield, 

New Hampshire, . . . . . no 

Poem — The Day of Judgment, . . . . . 116 

The Story of Granville Merrill — Which is an account of 

one of the Miracles of the Age , . . . 119 
The Mission and Testimony of the Shakers of the Twen- 
tieth Century to the World, . . . 130 
Poem — Christ, the Spirit, — Jesus, the Man, . . . 145 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Aurelia G. Mace, Frontispiece 

Sabbathday Lake, ........ 17 

Poland Spring House, 24 

Hester Ann Adams, ....... 28 

Elder John Whiteley, ....... 32 

John B. Vance, 36 

Shaker Meeting, ........ 38 

Eliza Ann Taylor, 40 

Eldress Dorothy Ann Durgin, . . . . 44 . 

Meeting- House and Center Dwelling, . . . • 48 

Mary Ann Gillespie, . . . . . . 52 

Elder William Dumont, . . . . . . 56 

Elder Otis Sawyer, 60 

Elder Abraham Perkins, ...... 62 

Elder Joshua Bussell, ........ 64 

Sisters of the Sabbathday Lake Community, . . . 68 

Trustees' Office, . . . . . . . 71 

Eldress Lizzie Noyes, ....... 72 

Mary Ella Douglas, 76 

Some of Our Children and their Teachers, . . . 78 

Elder Henry C. Blinn, 80 

Giles B. Avery, 82 

Sisters of the Community at Sabbathday Lake, . . 84 

Our Children, ........ 88 



XIV 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Attending Shaker Meeting, 1886, 

Eldress Harriet Goodwin, .... 

Elder Henry G. Green, .... 

Cedars of Lebanon, Elder Evans in the Center, 

The Queen's Daughters in Raiment of Needlework, 

Maine State Building, ..... 

David Parker, Trustee, ..... 

Lucy Ann Shepherd, Trustee, 

Elder Joseph Holden, . • . 

William Dumont, 

Elder Joseph Brackett, .... 



THE ALETHEIA. 



SABBATHDAY LAKE. 



Upon thy shores, O lovely lake, 

This calm, midsummer day, 
I seem to hear a voice which tells 

Of ages passed away : 

That, long before the birth of men, 
Through many waiting years, 

You saw the forests rise, and heard 
The music of the Spheres ; 

And then the Indian came, from whence 

The mystery is sealed. 
We question history, old and new, 

It has not been revealed. 

But this we know, he trod these shores, 
His fields of maize here grew ; 

You saw the wigwam in the shade, 
You bore the bark canoe, 

And here by simple nature taught, 

Ere science walked abroad, 
In rolling waves and thunderings, 

He heard the voice of God. 

Time fled, another race appeared, 

The former passed away, 
And hunters gave the lake its name, — 

The name of Sabbathday. 



THE ALETHEIA. 



For here they meet those sturdy men 

Of Puritanic race. 
Each Sabbath found them here, this spot 

Became their trysting-place. 

The years rolled by, the village grew, 

The mighty forests fell. 
You saw the steeple rise afar, 

You heard the Sabbath bell. 

You heard the whistle of the train 

Upon its iron rails. 
The wilderness was all aglow 

Along the hills and dales. 

O lovely lake, I walk thy shores, 

This calm midsummer day, 
And muse on wonders thou hast seen 

In ages passed away. 



LETTER I. 



OUR HOME AT SABBATHDAY LAKE. 

West Gloucester, January, 1883. 
Editors of the Bangor Messenger : — 

I thought you would like to know something of the 
Shaker Order, and therefore write you a letter from the 
heart of the village of this peculiar people. I am a 
Shaker myself, have been from childhood, and know 
whereof I speak. 

Nothing could be more pleasing to us than to have all 
know of the hope that is in us, of the well-spring from 
which we drink, that has kept this community in gradual 
growth for more than one hundred years. It is favor- 
able to any people to be liked best where they are best 
known. We find this to be the case with us. 

Shaker Village, in West Gloucester, is very pleasantly 
situated on the eastern side of a small hill, surrounded 
on all sides by higher land. I can no better describe the 
place than in the words of an aged Shaker brother, Cur- 
tis Cramer, now visiting us, from the society in Cleve- 
land, Ohio. He says: "Take a large wooden bowl and 



20 



THE ALETHEIA. 



invert a smaller one inside of it, and you will get some 
idea of the situation." 

The village is on the side of the smaller bowl, with a 
beautiful lake at its base, which is half a mile from the 
village on the east. We have a very fine view of the 
lake with the woodlands surrounding it at all seasons of 
the year ; but in autumn the scenery is magnificent, 
abounding in many colors, with the passing clouds 
throwing their shadows upon them. The lake derived 
its name from a party of hunters, who, in the olden time, 
met on its shores every Sunday. Hence the Sabbath- 
day Lake. 

Our government is a theocracy. We find a mother as 
well as a father in God, and are held together by bonds 
of pure love. Nothing else could do it. The life that 
Jesus lived is our example, and our order is founded 
upon the principles of that church that was organized at 
Jerusalem by his disciples. We have given up the pri- 
vate family life, and found in its place the great brother- 
hood and sisterhood which Jesus promised to those who 
would become his followers. All are loved and cared 
for. The rich and exalted come down and the poor are 
raised up, bringing all upon a Christian level. 

Two miles north of us are the famous Poland Mineral 
Springs, with two large hotels accommodating many 
invalids, who come for the benefits derived from drink- 
ing the water, and thousands of others who come for the 
pleasure of this pleasant resort during the summer 



OUR HOME AT SABBATHDAY LAKE. 



2 I 



months. The hotels are first-class in every respect. 
Just one mile south are the Centennial Springs. We 
are surrounded by healing waters. 

Thus you see that as was prophesied in days of old, 
the Sun of Righteousness has arisen upon us with heal- 
ing in his wings, and there is a balm in Gilead by which 
the wounds of both body and soul can be healed. There 
is that Platonic love among us, which goes out to the 
suffering sons and daughters of men. 

Have you a desire to know more of this peculiar peo- 
ple? "Ask and ye shall receive." 



LETTER II. 



THE DUALITY OF GOD— THE CHRIST SPIRIT. 

February, 1883. 

Editors of the Messenger : — 

In the article that I recently contributed to your paper, 
I alluded to a subject which I wish to say more upon. 

It may be that we, in looking abroad, see as much in 
the creeds of those outside which seems strange and 
unaccountable to us, as the casual observer finds among 
us that is hard for him to understand. 

I would "walk with bare, hushed feet the ground'* 
which I am about to enter. With due respect for the 
sincere belief of others, I must say that it seems strange 
to us that after all these years of increasing light, there 
should be any blind to the fact that we have a mother as 
truly as we have a father in God. "His eternal power 
and God-head" are understood by the things that are 
made, and all animal and vegetable life was created male 
and female. We have the authority of Moses that God 
said, "Let us make man in our image." Then they cre- 
ated a man and a woman. Is not this conclusive evi- 
dence of the duality of God? 



THE CHRIST SPIRIT. 23 

How did Jesus become the Christ? Some who read 
this will say he was born the Christ, but we can not view 
it in that light. Nearly nineteen hundred years ago a 
man lived a very pure life and went about doing good, 
until the beautiful Spirit of Christ descended and abode 
upon him. He was not the first man that received the 
anointing power of Christ, neither was he the last. 
About four hundred years before Jesus was born, Soc- 
rates, by his self-denying life, received in a measure, the 
baptism of the Christ Spirit. Also Plato ; so much so, 
that we can not think it sacrilegious to call him Plato the 
Christ. 

These great men of old may have made mistakes ; but 
the principles which they carried out in their lives, and 
taught to others, did not so far diverge from those after- 
wards promulgated by Jesus, as the lives of some who 
call themselves Christians in our day. Can a follower of 
Jesus the Christ go to war with his fellow-men ? 

I claim that there are those now living in our order, 
those "with whom my feet have trod the quiet aisles of 
prayer," who by a close walk with God have attained the 
Christ Spirit, and the same may be said of many who are 
not of this fold. 

A few lines in regard to our situation here may be 
acceptable. One mile from our home, and just half-way 
between us and the Poland Mineral Springs, on the 
north, is another Shaker village very beautifully situated 
on the first and highest of the Rang Hills. 



24 THE ALETHEIA. 

There are three hills that range side by side toward 
the north, each with a small lake on the west. The 
fathers and mothers of old gave them the name of the 
Rang Hills and the Rang Ponds, calling the name Rang 
instead of Range. 

Poland Mineral Springs are on the middle Rang Hill. 
From the tower of the Poland Spring House, can be 
seen, with all the surrounding country, the Rang Hill on 
the north, the Rang Hill on the south, with the Shaker 
village thereon, and the three lakes to the west. In a 
clear day the White Mountains towards the northwest, 
and the cities of Lewiston and Auburn to the northeast 
are in plain view, and far to the southeast the ocean, 
until it is lost in the azure sky. 

On pleasant afternoons in summer, we often enjoy 
delightful rides over these hills. At the hotels we have 
always been treated with great politeness. Hiram 
Ricker & Sons, proprietors of the two Poland Spring 
Houses, have ever shown the greatest kindness to us, as 
a people, for which they have our sincere thanks. 



LETTER III. 



QUESTION ANSWERED BY QUESTION— MOTHER 
ANN LEE. 

March, 1883. 

Editors of the Messenger : — 

Between our village and New Gloucester Upper Cor- 
ner on the east, is a forest of tall, straight pine trees, the 
beautiful evergreens of our northern land. How often, 
in riding by them and walking in their shade, we have 
felt the force of that marvelous power that is able to 
change the scenery around us into poetry. It is the 
eyes that see, and the ears that hear with acuteness, 
that can find "tongues in trees, sermons in stones, books 
in the running brooks and good in everything " by which 
we are surrounded. 

From the fertile soil of our domain, spring spontane- 
ously the rock and white maple. The present season is 
so backward, and the snows are lying so deeply, that we 
have not yet commenced to rob them of their nectar. A 
few days more and they must yield to the sovereignty 
of man. Beautiful trees, standing in your pride and 
strength, you find in man your lord and master! 



26 



THE ALETHEIA. 



I propose to answer a question universally asked in 
regard to our community. It is a fact well known that 
we live the virgin life; and the question is: "What 
would become of the world if all should be Shakers ? " I 
have heard it said that it is characteristic of the Yan- 
kees, that they answer one question by asking another ; 
so I will answer this question by asking a number. 
What would become of the world if all should go to 
war and slay their fellow-men? What would become of 
the world if all that grows from the ground should be 
kept for seed to reproduce its like, and no portion of it 
saved for the higher use of sustaining life ? What would 
become of the world if that great day of judgment should 
come "in the twinkling of an eye," according to the 
literal sense in which it is understood by many from a 
misinterpretation of the Scriptures ? 

It has been said that war and pestilence are necessary 
evils to check an over-abundant population. If this is 
so, it would be well if the Shakers were more numerous, 
that the check might come in a humane way, and those 
evils become exterminated. 

All will admit that Jesus lived the highest life that 
could be lived by man ; and he expressly declares : 
"All cannot receive this saying save they to whom it 
is given." " He that is able to receive it let him receive 
it." He afterwards said to those who had received the 
saying: "Ye are the light of the world;" and again, 
"Ye are not of the world," for to them had already come 



MOTHER ANN LEE. 27 

the end of the world, the Day of Judgment. Let those 
who cannot receive the saying become perfect in their 
generations. In so doing they will receive all the good 
that is to be found in the marriage relation. 

Ann Lee was the founder of the Shaker community. 
She came to America from Manchester, England, in the 
year seventeen hundred seventy-four, accomplished her 
great work and died ten years from that time, at the age 
of forty-eight. 

She possessed a powerful magnetism by which she 
seemed to control, easily, all within the sound of her voice. 
Thousands believed her words, and gave themselves, to- 
gether with all their worldly goods, to support her cause. 
Bringing their property together, they organized these 
communities, which remain and flourish to this day. 

We claim that she was inspired and directed by a 
power beyond that law of which Ingersoll speaks and 
writes, that she was the developing medium of mighty 
principles, eternal as the hills, that must yet undermine 
and destroy all false creeds. Already we see the writing 
upon the wall, and no Daniel is needed for its interpreta- 
tion. The light of the present day is revealing to many 
those same principles, so clearly seen and set forth by 
our Mother, more than one hundred years ago. 

One of these principles is, eternal progression in the 
life beyond. The travel of the soul from one degree of 
grace and glory to another throughout the endless ages 
of eternity. 



28 



THE ALETHEIA. 



She also received and transmitted to her followers 
that power which has held these communities together 
through the years that have passed, while those founded 
on other theories have failed. 

We would have all who advocate the rights of women 
understand that our Mother gave unto her daughters, 
equal rights with their brothers in all the offices estab- 
lished for the government of the Shaker Order. 

That Scripture is being fulfilled before our eyes : 
"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb," etc. "And 
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their 
spears into pruning-hooks," and they shall learn war no 
more. 



HESTER ANN ADAMS. 



Formerly of the Maine Ministry. 

What shall I render to thee, 

My Father ? 
What shall I bring as a 
Tribute of love to thee, 

My Mother ? 
A humble heart, a contrite spirit, 
A virgin life, I bring'unto thee. 



LETTER IV. 



W. D. HOWELLS— LAFAYETTE— MOTHER ANN'S 
VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 

May, 1883. 

Editors of the Messenger : — 

Having been indulged with space in your columns a 
number of times, I am encouraged to write again. 
What most impels me is the desire that our principles 
and standing may become better known to those outside. 
We would speak to the people and earnestly solicit a 
hearing; that those so inclined may investigate what has 
hitherto been so little understood. 

But few in comparison know of that germ which 
started into growth contemporary with the glorious 
Republic itself, that is yet to become a great tree, 
giving shelter to many weary souls, and healing to the 
nations. 

We have been brought before the public in "The 
Undiscovered Country," by W. D. Howells. To my 
understanding he leaves the country undiscovered, or 
the world in doubt of its existence. The work shows 
that the Shakers felt sure of a future life of happiness, 



3<D THE ALETHEIA. 

but also a chance that they were mistaken. Of the child 
that had died, the outside man said: "If it knows any- 
thing." But the Shaker said: "We are sure that it 
knows." Friend Howells is very fair and correct in what 
he says about the angel life ; but hardly gives credit to 
our people for the intelligence which belongs to them. 
In our ranks are found men with a collegiate education, 
and women learned and cultured. 

Ann Lee, our Mother, had visions of Divine Beings 
from her childhood. She walked with God, revealed to 
her by the spirits of the just made perfect: "I saw two 
bright angels of God standing by the mast" were her 
words to the captain when the water was rushing into 
the ship, "through whom I received this promise: 
There shall not a hair of our heads perish. We shall all 
arrive safely in America." She then assisted with her 
own hands at the pumps. Shortly after this a large 
wave struck the ship with great violence, and the loose 
plank was instantly closed in its place. 

This was viewed by all on board as a miraculous inter- 
position of Divine Providence in their favor, and Mother 
Ann and her eight followers were treated with great 
respect and kindness during the remainder of the voy- 
age. The captain was ever afterwards free to declare, 
that had it not been for these people, he would have 
been sunk in the sea and never reached America. They 
landed in New York the sixth day of August, 1771. 

Lafayette, while he was in this country in the time of 



LAFAYETTE. 3 I 

the Revolutionary War, once visited Mother Ann and 
conversed with her, and witnessed the worship of her 
people, saw them moved by an occult power. He drew 
near to Abijah Wooster, a very gifted young man, and 
tried to take hold of his hand. Abijah said to him, " Do 
you love this power?" Lafayette made answer, "It is 
something that seems greatly to be desired." 

These people held daily converse with their friends in 
spirit life many years before the spiritual manifestations 
commenced at Rochester, N. Y. It seemed as though 
bright beings from the throne of Eternal Majesty came 
down and ministered to them heavenly gifts ; and the 
promised Millennium had commenced. 

Thus the evidence is brought to our senses that we 
exist after death and that there is a God, the Great First 
Cause and Creator of all things. Not because the Bible 
tells us so, but from present revelations. 

All things invented, made or created, must be origi- 
nated by minds superior to the things thus brought into 
existence, so this great universe must have been formed 
by a Being far superior to itself. Is not this <l Proof Pal- 
pable of Immortality " ? 

" I am, O God, and surely Thou must be, 
Thy light, Thy love, in their bright plenitude 
Filled me with an immortal soul, to spring 
Over the abyss of death, and bade it wear 
The garments of eternal day, and wing 
Its heavenly flight beyond this little sphere 
Even to its source , to Thee its Author there ! ' ' 



32 THE ALETHEIA. 

This is the faith which we have received and we are 
fettered by no creed, but as Friend Howells says, live 
the angel, virgin life, the life that Jesus lived. Or we 
are ever striving to come as near to that as possible. 

A large dwelling-house is being built in our village, so 
business is unusually lively. To-day the granite blocks 
are moving fast into place, forming the basement; the 
three stories above to be of brick. The granite is 
taken from a quarry on our farm about a mile from the 
village. 

These are fine May days ; the farmers are putting the 
seed into the ground, the garden is planted and the 
roots set out, but we have yet to see the first dandelion 
blossom and buttercup of the Spring; trailing arbutus 
flowers are brought in and there are none more lovely 
or sweet, giving good cheer to all. The birds are busily 
repairing their little dwellings in the trees. To walk out 
into the beautiful day and drink in the blessings around 
us is joy unspeakable. 



4F* 




ELDER JOHN WHITELY. 

Bishop of the Societies in Massachusetts in which was laid the plot of the 
" Undiscovered Country" by W. D. Howells. 

" I have feet, with God they 're walking, 
For with gospel peace they 're shod ; 
Most familiarly I 'm talking 

As I take my walk with God. 

" I have ears to hear the story 

Men and angels love to tell ; 
Eyes to see the rising glory 

Which shall Zion's triumphs swell." 



LETTER V. 



CONSTELLATIONS— ARISTOTLE— ETERNAL PUNISH- 
MENT—THE GOOD PREVAILING. 

June, 1883. 

Editors of the Messenger : — 

June is here in all her loveliness, the most beautiful 
season of the year. 

On either side of the street which runs north and 
south, are to be seen lilac bushes in full bloom, both 
white and colored. In the row of shade trees extending 
the length of the village are the horse-chestnut, now in 
the height of their beauty. The large white trumpet- 
shaped blossoms pointing upward through the deep 
green foliage of the trees, are a sight one is never tired 
of beholding. On the top of the hill at the west is an 
orchard of young apple trees, now in full bloom. Vine- 
yards, gardens, orchards, and cultivated fields all around 
us in whatever direction we turn our eyes, and in our 
hearts that peace which passeth understanding. Surely 
the Utopia of Sir Thomas More is outdone. 

When night hath drawn her sable curtains over our 
heads, we look away into the far heavens, and behold 
% 



j 



34 THE ALETHEIA. 

mystery upon mystery. There are now plainly to be 
seen six stars of the first magnitude looking down upon 
us. Spica in the constellation Virgo, toward the south- 
west; Altair in Aquila, to the east; Arcturus, Deneb, 
Antares and Vega, all glowing with light from an inex- 
haustible fountain. Let us go to them, in imagination, 
and from them, behold the stars that will look down 
upon us, as far from them as they are from our little 
Earth. Let us go to the farthest star in the Nebula of 
Orion, and we shall come to no end, neither can we 
comprehend any beginning. 

As it is in regard to space, so is it also in regard to 
time. That man never lived who could search out the 
existence of the Almighty, the beginning or the end of 
time. Aristotle said: "It is evident there is neither 
space, nor time, nor vacuum beyond the residence of the 
gods in the highest heavens." And this to us is unfath- 
omable.* 

We have before our eyes, the Immensity of Space, 
without beginning or end, and we also know of the great 
aeon of God, there is neither beginning nor ending. It 
is enough for us to have the evidence that we shall exist, 
individual beings, when that Angel, with one foot upon 
the sea, and the other upon the land, declares : "There 
shall be time no longer." And this will be but the 

* Since the date of the publication of this letter scientific investiga- 
tions have made known the elements of ether and the wonderful power 
of the X-ray. 



ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. 35 

beginning, the mystery of God will be finished, because 
we shall but just then begin to comprehend the deep 
things of the Almighty. 

It is a strange idea that any should believe for one 
moment that a God, with the attributes of love and jus- 
tice in His organization, could create an immortal being, 
and then punish him eternally with dreadful sufferings 
for a few failures at the commencement of his existence. 
Jesus represented this God as a father, tender and merci- 
ful to His children, and we can see nothing in His teach- 
ings to justify any such belief. 

Every sin has its penalty, and each individual must 
suffer according to the measure of his transgressions, 
either in this life or the next. The punishment is but 
for reformation, and when reformation is complete, the 
soul is restored to happiness and peace. 

In looking over the world, I hardly think we could 
find a soul without one spark of goodness, and all good- 
ness is of God. The germs of goodness will develop 
and grow, and the tares will finally be destroyed, and 
cast into the fire of truth. 

How many great improvements have been made within 
the present century, and how many evils have been 
driven from the land ! The scourge of slavery might be 
called the greatest, which cost so many precious lives 
and is so well remembered by those of us who have 
arrived at the meridian of life. Above all the turmoil 
and the confusion extant, we behold the good prevailing, 



36 THE ALETHEIA. 

and the evil being constantly undermined, the signs of 
the times gradually tending to the perfect day, the Jubi- 
lee, the Millennium. 

" A Father's hand, a Mother's care, 
Is ruling o'er the billows there." 

Scattered abroad over this fair land are the pleasant 
community homes of the Shakers, of whom you yet 
know but little. They are not homes of servitude and 
sorrow, but they are homes of liberty, cheerfulness and 
peace, where brothers and sisters enjoy each other's 
society in purity and refinement, realizing all the bless- 
ings that accrue from lives strictly disciplined in the 
school of Christ. " Come and see," for we want you to 
know. 



1 



*1 




JOHN B. VANCE. 

Formerly Bishop of the Societies in Maine. 

1 imagine that many of earth's heroes have had to go to school a long time in that 
other world to learn even the elementary lessons of how to live properly. 

J. B. v. 

" Peace, peace, ye wild winds 
That shake the dark forest, 
Be still ye fierce tempests 
That rock the great sea. 
Your strength is as weakness, 
Compared with the power 
Of those, who from bondage 
Have set themselves free." 



LETTER VI. 



THE THREE CARDINAL PRINCIPLES— CONFESSION- 
CELIBACY— COMMUNITY OF INTERESTS. 

July, 1883. 

Editors of the Messenger: — 

Shall I write you a Sunday letter? Here in the still- 
ness of the afternoon, sitting by my writing table, I recall 
the events of the day. At ten o'clock we went to church, 
where many people had assembled to witness the wor- 
ship of the Shakers. It seems there were various causes 
that drew them. Some came merely for the recreation 
of a Sunday ride, some for the amusement of seeing a 
strange people, so different from " the rest of mankind," 
others from a sincere desire to find out our religious 
belief. This was held forth to them very plainly. 

Would your readers like to know what was told the 
people in our meeting to-day? Then they will know 
what they will have to do to become Christians. (Ex- 
cuse me, I look upon words Christians and Shakers as 
synonymous.) 

There are three principles unchangeable, that must be 



38 THE ALETHEIA. 

met and digested at the beginning and strictly adhered 
to in after life if we would be Shakers. 

The questions of location, dress, diet, etc., are of 
minor importance, still we aim at health and uniformity. 

When you see how straight these three principles, of 
which I am about to tell you, draw the line for our feet 
to walk by, you may feel that it is a life hard to be at- 
tained, that, "This an hard saying; who can hear it?" 

Can there be any greater crosses required under the 
Shaker Covenant than were required by that Constitu- 
tion which Lycurgus formed for the Spartans, by which 
they rose to be such a brave people ? Could our laws 
bind us any more closely to a self-denying life than that 
ideal government of Plato, which was never fully put 
into practice ? 

The way is straight and narrow, and there are few that 
find it. I tell you truly, I would rather be one of the 
few than of the many. Buddha, long before Jesus, 
pointed out " The Path" straight and narrow, devoid of 
animal passions. His teachings were, in many ways, 
similar to those of Jesus. " He that is compassionate 
and observes the law is my disciple," said Buddha. " I 
am not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill," said Jesus. 

In defense of the Shaker Covenant, the Hon. John 
Brethrett of Kentucky in his charge to a jury uses these 
words: "And is it a matter of objection against any 
man, that his motives are so pure and disinterested that 
he desires to be released from earthly thralldom, that 



SHAKER MEETING. 



CONFESSION. 39 

he may fix his thoughts and affections on his God ? 
And after he has signed the Covenant he is released 
from earthly care. 

''Much has been said against the Shaker Covenant. 
But, Sir, I repeat it, that individual who is prepared to 
sign the Church Covenant, stands in an enviable situa- 
tion ; who, devoted to God, is prepared to say of his 
property, ' Here it is, little or much, take it and leave 
me unmolested to commune with my God. Indeed I 
dedicate myself to what? Not a fanatical tenet; O no, 
to a subject far beyond, to the worship of Almighty God, 
the great Creator and Governor of the Universe. Under 
the influence of His love, I give my all; only let me 
worship according to my faith, and in a manner I believe 
acceptable to my God.' 

"Now what is there objectionable in all this? I say 
again, the world can not produce a parallel to the situa- 
tion such a man exhibits. Resigned to the will of 
Heaven, free from all feelings of earthly desires, and 
pursuing quietly the peaceful tenor of his way." 

But you desire to know what these three principles 
are. I will tell you. 

First — Confession. Every sin, secret or otherwise, 
must be confessed, one by one in the presence of a wit- 
ness, whom we consider has attained a greater degree of 
the Spirit of Christ than ourselves. Now we have 
entered "The Path" hereafter there must be no more 
darkness in us. Our walk must be in the light. 



4-0 THE ALETHEIA. 

Second — The Virgin Life. No longer to be con- 
trolled by animal passions. "Ye are harvested." "All 
can not receive this saying." But it must be received 
and lived out by the Shaker, the Christian. 

Third — Community of Interests. The worldly goods 
which we possessed are no longer our own. We settle 
with our heirs, and pay all our debts, then, if there is any- 
thing left, we lay it "at the apostles' feet," for every man 
as he has need. This sacrifice is not accepted until the 
person has had time for due consideration. If after this, 
he withdraws from fellowship, the society is not obliged 
to restore to him what he thus freely gave ; but there 
is generally a settlement made, mutually satisfactory. 

From the doctrines of the confession of sin we find 
that the house built upon the sands of atonement of 
Christ must fall. Each must atone for himself, bringing 
his own deeds to judgment. From our dual God — 
Father and Mother — we find that the house built upon 
the sands of the Trinity must fall. There has been 
nothing created in the likeness of any such prototype as 
three male beings in one. Because we know that God 
is good, we find that the house built upon the sands of 
eternal punishment must fall. The door is open 
through the endless ages, for repentance and restoration. 

These are truths according to the light that we have 
received, and we would not tear down and destroy the 
hopes of any, if we did not have something better, as we 
believe, to take their places. 





ELIZA ANN TAVLOR. 
Of the Central Ministry, Mt. Lebanon, N. Y. 

" I will bless thee, O Zion," saith the Lord. 
" I will bring precious gifts to thee ; 
My word shall be written, my law shall be kept. 
And my house be a refuge free. 
My temple upbuilded shall be, 
The corner-stone now I have laid, 
And the indwellers there 
On their foreheads shall bear 
My name graved in letters of gold." 



THE GOOD PREVAILING. 4 1 

" Let, then, O God ! thy servants dare 
Thy truth in all its power to tell, 
Unmask the priestly thieves, and tear 
The Bible from the grasp of hell ! ' ' 

This is my Sunday letter, written in the silence of the 
afternoon. I submit it to you, feeling that it is lawful to 
do good on the Sabbath day. 

The-; flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and 
all is delightful. This rest was provided for us by a lov- 
ing Father and a tender Mother. 



LETTER VII. 



THE ATONEMENT— THE GOD OF MOSES— THE GOD 

OF JESUS. 

August, 1883. 

Editors of the Messenger: — 

The days of the last month of summer are fast slip- 
ping away. The browning fields and drooping limbs of 
the fruit-laden trees remind us that the harvest is near. 
Even now the birds are beginning to sing of their south- 
ward journey. 

The large garden to the west of our village is produc- 
ing more than its usual amount of seeds, fruits and vege- 
tables. Potatoes are very nice, an abundant crop com- 
ing in, owing to the long war with their fell destroyers, 
the little emigrants in striped cloaks, which ended seem- 
ingly by their annihilation. 

All the people are busily engaged in their various 
occupations. Thus by the sweat of the brow are we 
earning the bread that is to sustain us through the com- 
ing winter. 

"The gods help those who help themselves," and even 
as the hand of help came to John Bunyan's pilgrim when 



THE ATONEMENT. 43 

he was in trouble, so are blessings being constantly 
strewn in our pathway, surrounded as we are at all times 
by the good, the pure, and the beautiful. 

None can enjoy the beautiful, even in material things, 
like the virgin spirit ; none can see God but the pure in 
heart, and in these lovely days which are so sweetly 
passing by, we 

4 ' Salute you ; earth and air and sea and sky , 
And the imperial sun that scatters down 
His sovereign splendors upon grove and town ! ' ' 

In my last letter to you I spoke of the house founded 
upon the sands of the atonement of Christ, maintaining 
that, from the light in which we view the subject, it must 
fall. How can it be otherwise if it is a false theory? If 
it is the truth, God is unjust. 

A God angry with a world of people that he himself 
had created, not for any sins of their own, but because 
their first father and mother committed one sin, and he 
could never become reconciled to any of them unless 
another God should be willing to be born into the world, 
grow to manhood and suffer death at the hands of these 
same people ! Take into consideration also that this 
angry God had before made a special law for them, 
"Thou shalt not kill." How could a father coolly pro- 
pose for his children to break the laws that he had given 
them, and then punish them eternally for doing so ? 

We do not believe that Jesus taught any such doctrine, 
and we also know that the God of Love that he repre- 



44 THE ALETHEIA. 

sented was a being very different from the God revealed 
to the people by Moses. The life that Jesus lived was 
far in advance of that degree of civilization that his 
brethren, the Jews, had attained, and they cruelly put 
him to death, he in his dying moments declaring, "They 
know not what they do." 

He said to his followers, " I am the Resurrection and 
the Life," showing plainly that if we would become one 
with him, we must follow his example in all things, liv- 
ing the life that he lived. 

He looked into the future and saw that light and 
knowledge would increase, and that his followers would 
do even greater works than he had done. 

There are many who believe that Jesus will some day 

come in the literal clouds, and the bodies of the dead 

will arise from their graves. That day will never dawn. 

" He cometh not a king to reign, 
The world's long hope is dim ; 
The weary centuries watch in vain 
The clouds of heaven for him." 

But the spirit of Christ is always near, if we will but 

believe and obey. Let us, therefore, open our hearts to 

receive that love that will save us from committing sin, 

the lovely Christ Spirit, sent to us by our Heavenly 

Father and Mother — God. 

" At morn I prayed, I fain would see 
How Three are One and One is Three ; 
Read the dark riddle unto me." 




ELDRESS DOROTHY ANN DURGIN. 
East Canterbury, N. H. 
To the Surest and the Purest I would give my life away. 



LETTER VIII. 



NEW CENTER DWELLING— SCHOOL— NATHAN MER- 
RILL AND THE FOUNDERS OF THE SOCIETY- 
ELDER OTIS SA WYER. 

November, 1883. 

Editors of the Messenger: — 

Since writing you last a number of months have rolled 
their course. Business has been very active in our com- 
munity, but we are now thinking of settling down to pass 
the winter in our cosy apartments. Thanksgiving is at 
hand. The sun is nearing its southern terminus, bring- 
ing Christmas with all its pleasant associations. 

The new house, which was not to be seen one year ago 
at this time, stands as a beautiful monument in our vil- 
lage. The garden-house, where the seeds are dried and 
the garden tools stored, has been repaired the past sum- 
mer. It looms up like a splendid cottage on the western 
hill. The workmen have left, from the master-builders 
down to the hod-carriers, excepting two carpenters. 

The long term of school has commenced, to continue 
until March. Each forenoon and afternoon, at the regu- 
lar hours, we hear the little bell, calling the youth and 



46 THE ALETHEIA. 

children together in the school-house, which is nicely 
fitted up, north of the village, west side of the street. 
Mulberry trees are set around the building, which will in 
future days become a beautiful grove. 

In passing the school-house door, we hear the happy 
voices of little boys and girls in recitations or singing, 
also the music of the pencil upon the slate and the 
crayon upon the blackboard. 

We are often invited to the school exhibitions, which 
are very interesting. Then the little students vie with 
each other to show the amount of diligence with which 
they have studied ; striving with hard questions upon 
the blackboard, speaking dialogues, poetry, and even 
delivering orations, generally ending with music. Words 
of encouragement and good cheer, and often small pres- 
ents, are then given to our dear little ones by their 
guardians and friends. 

Our present teachers have been brought up from 
children and educated in this community. The school 
stands upon an even basis with the other schools in New 
Gloucester, and is under the supervision of the Superin- 
tending School Committee of the town. Children out- 
side of the Society who live near attend, and their par- 
ents seem to be well pleased with the progress they 
make. 

Just one hundred years ago the fourteenth day of this 
month, the first inhabitant of this place was converted to 
Shakerism. His name was Nathan Merrill. Within a 



FOUNDERS OF THE SOCIETY. 47 

fortnight of that time, nearly all the families around 
came into this sacred union. In many cases a man's 
foes became those of his own household, for a man was 
set at variance against his father, and the daughter 
against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against the 
mother-in-law. 

These were exciting days, and a goodly number from 
each family came into the joint relation. They could 
not close their ears to the voice of the Spirit of Christ, 
which was sounding in trumpet tones, " He that loveth 
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and 
he that loveth a son or daughter more than me is not 
worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross and fol- 
io weth after me, is not worthy of me." 

These good fathers and mothers have long since 
passed on to those lovely mansions, made without hands, 
eternal in the heavens. Many of them lived to extreme 
old age. In early youth I was conversant with about 
fifty of them, and had them for my instructors. They 
had brought their lives under such strict discipline that 
no trial, however severe, could disturb the serenity of 
their spirits. I have seen them grieved but never ruffled. 

Last evening I visited a library containing a copy of 
each book published by this Order since it was founded. 
It consists of one hundred and seventy-five volumes, 
with their revised editions. 

These books have been collected and numbered, and 
the library set in order for the reception of other books 



/ 



48 THE ALETHEIA. 

that may be published by the untiring efforts of Elder 
Otis Sawyer. Future generations will look upon his 
works and call him blessed. In the way that Solomon 
built the Temple and that God made the world, so has 
he built the house that hath been reared in the midst of 
our village the past season. He said, "Let it be done," 
and it was done. 

The storms of winter are approaching. Their harbin- 
gers have already been here, following a long and beau- 
tiful Indian summer, which, we trust, has been enjoyed 
by all. 



LETTER IX. 



ORIGIN OF THE SHAKERS. 

January, 1884. 

Editors of the Messenger: — 

To-day I find myself seeking out the beginning of 
Shakerism. The first thought draws me to a company of 
French prophets who went into England in the year sev- 
enteen hundred and six. They taught a high and pure 
religion, preparatory to a greater work that was to 
follow. 

Those French prophets extended their warnings over 
the greater part of Europe. The few who went into 
England drew many into their ranks. They formed no 
regular societies until about the year seventeen hundred 
and forty-seven, when a small society was organized in 
the neighborhood of Manchester, under the leadership of 
James and Jane Wardley. They were very powerful min- 
isters, and taught the confession of sin and purity of life. 

In their meetings the people had wonderful manifesta- 
tions of divine power, swiftly passing and repassing each 
other like clouds agitated with a mighty wind. From 

4 



50 THE ALETHEIA. 

these exercises they received the appellation of Shakers, 
a very appropriate name, for the Lord hath said, "All 
the men that are on the face of the earth shall shake at 
my presence," etc. 

When this little society was organized, Ann Lee, our 
Mother, was eleven years of age, but did not unite with 
these people until she was twenty-two. She had been a 
very peculiar child from infancy, serious and thoughtful, 
not addicted to play like other children. She often told 
of having visions of supernatural things. Her mother 
was a good woman, able to instruct and guide her, but 
she died when Ann was quite young, and left her with 
no one to depend upon for help. She was early married 
to Abraham Stanley and had four children ; but they all 
died in infancy except one little girl, who attained the 
age of six years. 

In her married life she found nothing but condemna- 
tion and sorrow, although her husband was very kind 
and attentive to her. She felt a yearning for a higher 
life, and the burden of sin and the depravity of human 
nature lay heavily upon her. She found some release- 
ment by uniting with James and Jane Wardley, strictly 
adhering to their counsel and living up to the light of 
their society. 

The religious exercises of this little band stirred up 
the opposition of the people around them, and they were 
severely persecuted and often imprisoned, our Mother 
receiving her share with the rest. 



ORIGIN OF THE SHAKERS. 5 1 

About this time Oliver Goldsmith was writing "The 
Vicar of Wakefield." In order to become acquainted 
with the condition of society in England at this period I 
refer the reader to that book. Those who excited preju- 
dices by differing from others in sentiment or action, 
could expect but little justice and were often unmerci- 
fully abused. 

It was in the summer of seventeen hundred and sev- 
enty that our Mother was imprisoned in Manchester, 
being falsely accused by her enemies of breaking the 
Sabbath. After a scene of deep tribulation of soul, 
when her way was seemingly hedged up on every side, 
and she cried mightily to God for deliverance, the rays 
of Divine Light suddenly broke in upon her spirit and 
the Heavens of Glory were spread before her in open 
vision. She saw the spirit of Jesus, and he spoke to her 
words of love and comfort, gave her a mission, assuring 
her of divine protection in its fulfillment, and revealed to 
her those principles upon which this Order has been 
founded, sacred, eternal and true. 

When she was released from prison and returned to 
the society, her Elders, James and Jane Wardley, imme- 
diately saw that she had received light superior to theirs, 
and they and their people willingly acknowledged her as 
their leader. From this time onward she was called 
" Mother" by her faithful followers. It has been said, 
that, when under the power of the Holy Spirit, her coun- 
tenance shone with the glory of God, and her form and 



52 THE ALETHEIA. 

actions appeared divinely beautiful and very angelic. 
The power and influence of her spirit, at such times, was 
great beyond description ; and no one was able to gain- 
say or resist the authority by which she spoke. 

I submit this letter to you, trusting that the message 
may be received, and with the prayer that the day may 
be hastened when "The knowledge of the Lord shall 
cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." 



MARY ANN GILLESPIE. 



Formerly of the Maine Ministry. 

Let my name be recorded 

In the book the angels keep, 
Where each act is rewarded 

And the seed I have sown I shall reap. 
Then when the Angel Reaper cometh, 

And the harvest time shall be, 
I shall find in my Father's house 

There 's a mansion reserved for me. 



LETTER X. 



MOTHER ANN'S PERSECUTIONS IN ENGLAND. 

Editors of the Messenger : — 

By your kindness, I have, transiently, been allowed 
space in your columns. Judging the future by the past 
I am encouraged to look for a continuation of the same. 
Many erroneous opinions are extant in regard to the 
Shakers, and it is but fair that their principles should 
become better known. Many who are uninformed are 
writing about them, and it is but just that the Shakers 
themselves should have a hearing. As I said in a 
former letter, we find ourselves to be best liked where 
we are best known, and some of your readers may de- 
sire to become better acquainted with a community that 
has prospered and gradually grown for more than one 
hundred years. 

Many we behold who, for a closer walk with God, 
have been willing to forsake father, mother, wife and 
children, houses and lands, and their former lives, and 
have in return, even now, in these community homes, 
received an hundred fold of fathers and mothers, 



54 THE ALETHEIA. 

brothers and sisters, houses and lands, and all the song 
of their souls is : 

" Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee ; 
E'en though it be a cross that raise th me." 

If one had always been blind and had never seen a 
sunbeam, is there power in words to describe it so that 
he could know of its beauty? If one had always been 
deaf and had never heard the song of a bird, is there a 
language by which it could be brought perfectly to his 
understanding? Even so words fail of describing the 
joys of the redeemed spirit. 

« ' Alone , O love ineffable , 

Thy saving name is given. 
To turn aside from thee is hell, 
To walk with thee is heaven. 

" Thy litanies, sweet offices 
Of love and gratitude ; 
Thy sacramental liturgies, 
The joy of doing good." 

In my last letter, I wrote you of the origin of the Sha- 
kers ; that the first society was established in the year 
seventeen hundred and forty-seven, and that our Mother, 
Ann Lee, became its leader in the year seventeen hun- 
dred and seventy. 

Her mission, calling people as it did, away from the 
selfish private family life, into a great brotherhood and 
sisterhood, and striking a deadly blow against those 
indulgences which the carnally minded so much desire, 



MOTHER ANNS PERSECUTIONS. 55 

stirred up the opposition of many, and caused her to 
have relentless enemies. 

Three attempts were made to take her life while she 
remained in England. Once she was locked in a prison, 
and kept, as her enemies thought, without food for four- 
teen days, with the intention of starving her. One of 
her followers, James Whittaker, whom we now call 
Father James, then a youth, went each night after the 
first and put the stem of a pipe through the key-hole of 
the door, and into the bowl of the pipe poured wine and 
milk, by which our Mother received nourishment that 
sustained her. It was with astonishment that her ene- 
mies saw her walk off with so much strength when they 
unlocked the door at the end of the fourteen days, 
expecting to find her dead. 

At another time they accused her of blasphemy, and 
caused her to have a trial before four ministers of the 
Established Church, hoping that they would condemn 
her to have her tongue bored through with a hot iron. 
I am aware that this is dreadful to speak of in these 
days, but great cruelty prevailed at that time. 

The ministers requested to hear her speak, and she 
spoke with such power that they dismissed her at once, 
and advised her accusers to let her alone. 

This enraged them to such a degree that they deter- 
mined to take the power of judgment into their own 
hands. They agreed to stone her for blasphemy, and 
led her into a valley. Some of her people followed and 



56 THE ALETHEIA. 

kept near her. Then her accusers took their places 
upon the hill opposite and commenced to throw stones, 
but missed their aim in every instance except one. One 
of the brethren was slightly injured. In a short time 
those men began to quarrel with each other and dis- 
persed, leaving our Mother and her people to return in 
peace to their homes. In relating these circumstances 
to some of the believers she said: "While they were 
throwing their stones I felt myself surrounded with the 
presence of God, and my soul was filled with love. I 
knew they could not kill me, because my work was not 
done; therefore I felt joyful and comfortable, while my 
enemies felt distress and confusion." 

Those were days when persecution walked rampant; 
when life was often taken in punishment for the expres- 
sion of a religious opinion. But at that same time a 
home was being prepared in the wilderness of America, 
where freedom of thought could be tolerated, and "To 
the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that 
she might fly into the wilderness, into her place." 



LETTER XI. 



ROYAL'S RIVER— NOBLE PIONEERS OF THE TOWN- 
FIRST SHAKER MEETING IN NEW GLOUCESTER 
—ELDER ELISHA POTE— DEATH OF ELDER OTIS 
SAWYER— VISION OF MOTHER ANN 

May, 1884. 

Editors of the Messenger: — 

This morning the mist is rising from the water-courses 
and encircling the distant hills. Northeast of our village 
we can trace Royal's river through the " Woods of Pine," 
by the billow of mist which hangs over it, as it finds its 
way to the sea by a zigzag course. 

4 ' The winding way the serpent takes , 
The mystic river took," 

as in all the years that are past it has borne the overflow 
of Sabbathday Lake along through the green fields and 
meadows, around the hills and over the pasture lands, 
until it reaches the ocean at Yarmouth, eighteen miles 
from this place. 

Up this river were poled on rafts the families and 
goods of our forefathers in the fall of the year seventeen 
hundred and forty-two, they having come by vessel from 



58 THE ALETHEIA. 

Gloucester, Mass. The first settlement was then made 
upon the sunny slopes of those hills. 

Until the time of this intrusion, the winding stream 
had been hurrying on, "unvexed by the wheels of indus- 
try," since that far-distant day when it was first called 
into being by the " Heart of Heaven." 

" Come forth, O Water of Serpents ! 

In sinuous, gliding grace 
Went forth the queenly river 

Unto her chosen place. 
Then called he the youngest, the fairest, 

Step softly , Water of Birds ! 
And the silver- footed brook stole out, 

Singing songs that had no words ! " 

The French and Indian war broke up this settlement 
for a time. Their log-houses were destroyed and saw- 
mill burned by the savages, and the people fled back to 
their old homes. They returned in the spring of seven- 
teen hundred and fifty-four and built a fort or block- 
house, in which they lived six years, never going out 
unarmed. 

The year seventeen hundred and sixty brought peace 
to the settlement. The old homes were soon restored,, 
and the wilderness was made to blossom as the rose. 

The names of men of stern integrity adorn the es- 
cutcheons of this town. 

William Widgery was one of the pioneers, the man 
who was obliged by his charter to refuse Marshal Ney a 



FIRST SHAKER MEETING. 59 

passage to America in his vessel, upon the downfall of 
Napoleon. 

Isaac Parsons, represented as the man with a stern 
look, built the first frame-house, which is still standing; 
and O how sacredly was the Sabbath observed in that 
house! His descendants are among the most respect- 
able people living around us. 

The Rev. Samuel Foxcroft was the Puritan minister, 
who for many years dispensed the word of God to a 
united people, required by law to attend to his teachings. 
When he laid down his charge in the year seventeen 
hundred and ninety-three it was with sorrow he saw his 
flock scattered, freedom of conscience leading each man 
his own way. 

The first Shakers came to New Gloucester in Novem- 
ber, seventeen hundred and eighty-three, and held meet- 
ings in the western part of the town. Their first meet- 
ing was held in the house of Gowen Wilson, Sr., which 
was situated in the field just south of our large garden, 
on the west side of the road. Elisha Pote, a young man 
from Gorham, Maine, took the lead in speaking. He 
had lately become a convert to the Shaker faith. His 
reasonings were clear and convincing, and his voice mild 
and persuasive. 

Many believed the new doctrine, and the Shakers have 
occupied this ground from that day until the present 
time. 

The society was organized on the nineteenth of April, 



6o 



THE ALETHEIA. 



seventeen hundred and ninety-four. The society at 
Alfred, Maine, had been organized a short time previous, 
and another society in the town of Gorham soon after. 

Elisha Pote afterwards became the spiritual leader of 
the three Maine societies, and occupied that place many 
years. He died at a great age, widely known and 
respected by all. 

His second successor was our well-beloved Elder Otis 
Sawyer, who in the month of March, the present year, 
went over to dwell in the Paradise of God, the "House 
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Like a 
beautiful cloud he moved from our sight, but the Com- 
forter cometh. Upon the wings of the morning are 
wafted these words to the sorrowing ones, " Peace I 
leave with you, my peace I give unto you : not as the 
world giveth, give I unto you," "and lo, I am with you 
alway, even unto the end." 

Why should we mourn when he is with us nearer than 
before, when he is leading us in green pastures, and 
beside the still waters? His pure and refined spirit has 
become one with Christ, even as Christ is one with the 
Heavenly and Eternal Father and Mother. 

I will here add an item further in regard to that ocean 
voyage of Ann Lee and her people. As I wrote you in 
a former letter, the ship which brought them came very 
near sinking in mid-ocean with all on board, and was 
saved by a miracle. At that time the people of America 
were commencing the struggle for independence. The 




ELDER OTIS SAWYER. 

Formerly Bishop of the Societies in Maine. 

"Like unto the grandeur of the eastern clouds when the sun is rising, so is the 
redeemed spirit." 



VISION OF MOTHER ANN. 



Angel of the Lord was seen by our Mother, passing on 
in advance of the ship, singing with a mighty voice : 

" From the Heaven of Heavens 
O'er sea and land I fly, 
Crying sweet, sweet liberty ! 
Peace, peace upon earth, 
The hand of the Lord 
Has freed America. 
O bless this blessed day, 
Your freedom, freedom claim ; 
And prepare ye, all people, 
Salvation to gain." 



IN THE WOODS OF PINE. 



Beautiful trees of the primitive forests, 

Oft in your shades I 'm delightfully led, 
Culling the wild flowers, resting in green bowers, 

Where to my feet a rich carpet is spread. 

Music of warblers free everywhere greets me, 

Blending in harmony's unwritten song; 
Lo, from the depths profound, chanting a merry round, 

Onward the ocean-bound brook glides along. 

Wonderful trees with your branches extending, 
Casting your shadows and shedding your dew, 

Moved by the breezes, dependency bending, 
Gratefully clouds pass their shadows o'er you. 

Mighty in strength, wealth, and pride in the nation, 
Waving in grandeur o'er mountain and plain, 

If ye could speak, 'twould be, " Check the strong axe-man, 
Save and protect us, ye powers of Maine." 

Thus the great Pine Tree State may by an effort 

Rescue the forests by which she is blest, 
Finding in recompense treasures of excellence, 

Richer by far than the minds of the West. 

Beautiful trees of the primitive forest, 

O how delightful to walk in your shade, 
Culling the wild flowers, resting in green bowers, 

Where underfoot a rich carpet is laid ! 



ELDER ABRAHAM PERKINS. 
[Age, 90 years.] 

Formerly Bishop of the Societies in New Hatnpshire and Maine. 

O beauteous resurrection morn ! 
My spirit unto thee is born ; 

Thy elements I love. 
Thy air I breathe, in thee I live, 
The substance lost I now retrieve, 

Which opens heaven above, 

The world of light above. 

A. p. 



LETTER XII. 



PROTESTATION I. 

August, 1884. 

Editor of The Increasing Light: — 

Before me is one of your papers containing an article 
in regard to our people. The writer says that he 
strained his understanding long and earnestly to get 
clear on a certain point, and that he failed of satisfac- 
torily finding out, when he attended our meeting on the 
Sabbath of the twenty-second of July. If he will lend us 
his attention a few moments we will enlighten him, but 
will first say that we notice several mistakes in his com- 
munication to which we greatly demur; and as we desire 
that our principles should become better known to those 
outside, it may be well to give your readers the other 
side of the story. 

I attended the meeting of which he writes, but did 
not hear the gloomy things he tells about. 4 'But this 
we confess unto you that after the way which they call 
heresy, so worship we the God of our fathers," believing 
in the inspired word. From my standpoint it was the 



64 THE ALETHEIA. 

worship of God in the beauty of holiness. Our reverend 
Elder stood before us, his silvery locks and goodness of 
heart entitling him to our love and respect, while he 
nobly held forth the word from a soul overflowing with 
love to God and humanity. ''Thou shalt rise up before 
the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man and 
fear thy God ; I am the Lord." 

We do not believe in the Trinity. To us God is 
Father and Mother and has been from the beginning. 
In this we are sustained both by the Scriptures and 
reason. Jesus was an inspired man, Ann Lee was an 
inspired woman. Christ is the Anointing Power that all 
may receive. Inasmuch as Jesus became the Christ and 
as Ann Lee became the Christ, so may all be in posses- 
sion of the same spirit to that degree which they make 
themselves worthy by good works. 

We know that all can not be Shakers, and we have 
great respect for those parents who bring up their chil- 
dren "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." We 
have no sympathy with the unfruitful works of darkness. 
We claim that the generative life is not the highest life. 
The example that Jesus set we strive to follow. 

The celebrated veteran, Frederick Douglass, attended 
the meeting in question. He was staying at Poland 
Mineral Springs for his health, and gave us the pleasure 
of seeing him in the audience. This circumstance 
tended to carry our feelings back to those turbulent days 
through which our country passed and triumphed. 




ELDER JOSHUA BUSSELL. 
Alfred, Maine. 

u Deep the river of life that 's flowing. 

Gently. gliding serene and grand ; 
Oh, the beauty of its crystal waters ! 

Laving the shores of the promised land. 
Sailing along on its peaceful bosom 

Are kindred souls, a happy band, 
Filled with songs of joy and rejoicing 

As_they near thejpromised land." 



PROTESTATION I. 65 

As we would lightly pass over the ridicule of the 
thoughtless so would we, like Phocion of old, scorn the 
applause of the giddy multitude; but we love goodness 
wherever it is found, and we love our Shaker brothers. 
They are worthy of our confidence and trust. 



s 



LETTER XIII. 



PROTESTATION II. 

August, 1884. 

Editor of the Peoples News: — 

In your paper of Saturday was a letter entitled 
" Among the Believers," and the thought struck me 
that you might give a place in your columns to a letter 
from one of the Believers. 

In view of Sabbathday Lake, in view of the green 
slopes and in the shade of the round-topped apple trees, 
I am writing to you this sultry August day. 

Yesterday was Sunday, and the " Little Church" was 
crowded. Many came from Poland Springs, two miles 
distant on the north. Auburn, Lewiston and Portland 
were also represented in the audience. All here to wit- 
ness the worship of this peculiar people. Why peculiar? 
Because they have dared to differ from others. In look- 
ing round upon the people who filled our church, we 
could not help observing how many there were who saw 
us only in the light in which we were viewed by the lady 
whose letter appeared in your Saturday's paper. But 



PROTESTATION II. 67 

there was a class there who saw things differently — who 
saw nobility and dignity in the Shaker brothers, who saw 
loveliness and beauty in the Shaker sisters' dress, which 
was not, my friend, "selected with a view to its ugli- 
ness ; " that is a mistake, but with a view to utility and 
comfort. "Your tastes are perverted," said our good 
Elder Frederick Evans to one who failed to see beauty in 
the Shaker sisters' dress. "Bad diet has done it, or you 
have been wrongly educated." 

Communications are often published in the secular 
papers in regard to the Shakers, written by those who 
understand but little of our principles or manner of life, 
in which we find wide deviations from the truth, and 
we desire a hearing. We have been with you one hun- 
dred years, and yet are in a great measure unknown to 
you. 

The writer says that the Shaker brothers are honest. 
All that they sell proves to be just what they represent, 
and with the next breath, that the rhythm of their 
motions indicates "We are nothing, less than nothing. 
We are dreams." An honest man nothing but a dream ! 
To me the rhythm of their motions means, "We are the 
noblest work of God ! " 

Now let us inform you, who see so little to admire in 
the pure life the Shakers lead, that we often see as much 
in your lives, in your beliefs and in your manner of dress 
that seems strange and unaccountable to us, as you can 
possibly see in ours that seems strange and unaccount- 



68 THE ALETHEIA. 

able to you. But we will wait for the future to weigh 
all things, knowing that the truth will finally prevail. 

" God's ways seem dark, yet soon or late 

They touch the shining hills of day ; 

The evil cannot brook delay, 
The good can well afford to wait ; 

Give ermined knaves their hour of crime, 
Ye have the future, grand and great, 

The safe appeal of truth to time." 



FATHERS AND MOTHERS, AN HUNDRED 
FOLD GREETING. 



[From the Manifesto.^ 

New Gloucester, April, 1884. 

You whose spirits are replete with that perfect love 
which casteth out fear, in you is found that charity which 
never faileth, binding up the broken-hearted, strengthen- 
ing the weak, and comforting the afflicted. In you is 
found that power which healeth the sick of sin, casteth 
out the spirits of evil, and giveth sight to those who are 
blinded to the true light and life. 

By giving up all you have received all. For every sac- 
rifice that you have made of selfish pleasures, an hun- 
dred fold of spiritual blessings has filled your cup to 
overflowing, and the pathway in which you walk is lead- 
ing you nearer to the fountain of all good, nearer and 
nearer to God. 

A few short years here in which to teach your disci- 
ples and followers to do as you have done, to live as you 
have lived, and then the real home in the Heaven of 
Glory is opened unto you. 



JO THE ALETHEIA. 

" They are slipping away, these sweet, swift years, 
Like a leaf on the current cast ; 
With never a break in their rapid flow, 
We watch them as one by one they go 
Into the beautiful past." 

And one by one you go, beloved, into the beautiful 
future, into the home of the redeemed, a home that you 
have made your own by a travel of soul away, far away 
from sordid passions ; redeemed from all that is not of 
God. 

Like the lake in midsummer, when the air is still, so is 
the redeemed spirit. Like unto the tree clothed with the 
blossoms of spring, and like unto the tree laden with the 
ripe fruits of autumn, so is the redeemed spirit. Like 
unto the grandeur of the eastern clouds when the sun is 
rising, so is the redeemed spirit. 

In the school of Christ you have been disciplined, by 
the fire in Zion you have been tried, until like the gold 
of Ophir you are purified; and now saith the Spirit, 
" Ye shall walk with me in white, for ye are worthy." 

From this high estate, let your blessings descend like 
the dew of Hermon into the hearts of your faithful chil- 
dren. Let your mantles rest upon those who follow in 
your footsteps, and you shall be more than satisfied when 
the books are opened, and your eyes behold the record 
of those whom you have led along in the Highway of 
Holiness. 



THE CHRIST OF THE AGES. 



CREEDS— BAPTISM— THE EUCHARIST— EQUALITY OF 
THE SEXES— THE BIBLE— THE ARTS AND SCI- 
ENCES. 

[From the Manifesto.^ 

January 15, 1896. 

" Ring out the darkness of the land, 
Ring in the Christ that is to be." 

In the January Humanitarian is a communication by 
Paul Tyner, entitled, "The Christ Ideal in Shakerism." 
He says that Mother Ann Lee believed that the spirit 
of Jesus came to her when she was in prison in Man- 
chester, England. No doubt it was Jesus, the Christ, 
for from that time she was clothed with the Christ as 
with a garment. 

In the prison, more than one hundred and twenty-five 
years ago, principles were revealed unto her which the 
development of the sciences have been unable to over- 
throw, principles that will stand to the end of time. 

The revelation which she received was a harvest from 
the generative life. Also that the mission of Jesus upon 



72 THE ALETHEIA. 

the earth was to teach a higher life to those who were 
able to receive the doctrine. 

When she returned to her people from the prison she 
took up the work where Jesus had left it, and her follow- 
ers were not of the world, even as the followers of Jesus, 
in his day, were not of the world. 

In the Order or the Community which she founded, 
she was second to Jesus. Jesus was the first to teach 
the higher life, Ann Lee was the second. Both were in- 
spired by "The Christ." Our Mother being second to 
Jesus in the Shaker Order was the cause of her followers 
making use of the expression, "Christ made his second 
appearance in Ann Lee." Christ had appeared in thou- 
sands before our Mother lived, and also before the days 
of Jesus. 

New truths have been revealed to the disciples of 
Mother Ann, from time to time, ever since the Shaker 
Order has been established. Our brother, Paul Tyner, is 
right in this. Fast upon the downfall of the generative 
life has come the enlightenment. 

Creeds have fallen before the Star of Revelation. 
The Trinity is dethroned. God is our Heavenly Father 
and Mother. The atonement by the death of Jesus has 
passed away. 

Baptism by water is supplanted by the baptism of fire 
and the Holy Spirit, the Christ. The spiritual fire is to 
consume the evils inherent in the human soul, the tares. 
"There is a fire in Zion, and a furnace in Jerusalem." 




ELDRESS LIZZIE NOYES. 
Sabbathday Lake, Maine. 

" O brighter than the morning star 
Is the heart that is pure and free ! 
And the light that 's ever glowing there, 

The star of purity. 
The sun shall wane, the stars go down, 
| And reign of time be o'er, 

But the living light in the heart that 's pure 
Shall shine forever more." 



EQUALITY OF THE SEXES. 73 

The Eucharist is understood to be received by living 
the pure life which Jesus lived — typified by the body 
and blood, which means the life. 

Endless punishment is also routed, and an angry God 
is no more. But the sinner finds punishment enough. 
Each must atone for his own sins, by bringing them to 
the light and forsaking them forever. When reforma- 
tion is complete, the punishment is removed. 

Progression after death is also established — a travel of 
the soul from one degree of grace and glory to another 
for ever and ever. A soul can recede from God after 
death, yet the farther he gets away, the harder he will 
find it to return; but return he must sooner or later. 
Even the Parsees bring back their first old evil one, 
Ahriman and his rebellious host. After being purified 
by fire they all return and are forgiven. 

In the Shaker Community woman has taken her place 
as an equal with man, by intellectual if not by physical 
strength. Where there is an Elder, there is also an Eld- 
ress; where there is a Deacon, there is a Deaconess, 
considered equal in their powers of government. 

The Order is founded upon present revelation sus- 
tained by the inspired Word. God is as able and willing 
to reveal his will to man to-day as he was two thousand 
years ago. The Bible contains much that is inspired 
and much that is not, but God has placed his law in the 
hearts of his people. 

A Shaker must live in the light, he must walk the 



74 THE ALETHEIA. 

straight path of purity, and consecrate himself and all 
that he has to the upbuilding of the cause ; should he 
depart from either of these principles he ceases to be a 
Shaker. 

The arts and sciences, in a future day, will flourish 
under the patronage of those living the highest life, the 
Shaker life. Heretofore the work of drawing the lines 
between flesh and spirit has been so great that there has 
been no time to give to any other thought but that of 
watching all the avenues to keep out the evils that might 
enter and destroy the good that has been gained. 

In the new heavens and new earth, all that is pure and 
elevating in art and the sciences will be understood and 
appreciated. 



THY WILL BE DONE. 



[From the Manifesto.~\ 

Is there any reserve in this? And can 4 'Thy kingdom 
come" unless the will of God is done? Are we able to 
take by violence and hold that heavenly kingdom, which 
we have so long been striving to obtain, and for which 
so many have fallen in the fearful struggle ? 

We believe that the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, 
hath come down from God, and we are privileged, spir- 
itually, to walk its lovely streets. Here wrangling and 
confusion are very much out of place, and what would be 
our appearance in soiled and ragged garments ? Our 
spiritual robes cannot be clean and white unless we live 
in purity in thought and deed. 

We have been assured that there are angel bands who 
march through the heavens, and surround the throne of 
the Highest. How could these be held together unless 
there was perfect order, and each had his place assigned 
him and kept himself in it? Do they not cheerfully 
move in the spirit of "Thy will be done"? So we will 
cheerfully resign our spirits, and follow that "cloud by 
day and pillar of fire by night" which goes before the 



j6 THE ALETHEIA. 

chosen people, as they travel away from the wilderness 
of sin. "The tabernacle of God is with man." Believ- 
ing this, we find God in our union with his saints. Sep- 
arate our spirits from them and we are lost, like wander- 
ing stars, in the regions of darkness. 

" He that overcometh will I make a pillar in the tem- 
ple of my God, and he shall go no more out; and I will 
write upon him a new name." This promise is for us if 
we are worthy ; if not, others will take our places. 

Our lives are required at our hands. Let us reserve 
nothing for self, but with full purpose of heart resolve to 
carry out, daily, a perfect consecration, and realize the 
hundred fold reward. "He that loseth his life for my 
sake shall find it," saith the Christ. 




MARY ELLA DOUGLASS. 

Who left her companions at Sabbathday Lake for a more beautiful home 
in the Spirit Land, February 9, 1893. 

" Sweet Summer Land, O Land of bright glory ! 
Thy beautiful fields are spread out before me , 
Thy verdant groves, and thy vineyards fair, 
And my soul exclaims, ' How wonderful they are ! ' " 



ANGELS OF THE NEW DISPENSATION. 



[Read in our meeting for Soul Communion.] 

Behold we come ! Wafted upon the zephyrs from the 
Elysian fields we come unto you. Glory and brightness 
are in our wake, and the beautiful rivers of heavenly love 
are rolling onward, deluging the land from shore to 
shore. 

Home of the favored and blest ! Home of the pure 
and the true! We came unto you first; we came unto 
you in the early dawn, when the birds sang of this New 
Hope that is now being established by the scientific 
researches of the day. 

Search your records, for laid away in your archives are 
thousands of messages, words of prophecy, of love, and 
of comfort, which we brought unto you before we went 
abroad to do our work with the nations of the earth. 
We will come unto you again. In God's good time we 
will come. 

Hush ! breathe not a thought of doubt while undergo- 
ing the throes of a mighty change. Not one jot nor one 
tittle of all that we have said unto you shall fail. Your 



78 THE ALETHEIA. 

banner shall be raised on high ; higher than ever before 
shall be your standard, and your victory shall be ac- 
knowledged by the nations of the earth. 

Children of the New Hope, look well to the path in 
which your feet are found to be walking, for on the plane 
of nature is the home of discord and strife. We can 
never walk with you there. But in the bower of purity 
and spiritual life you will find us. Here we will walk 
with you, and talk with you, and sing unto you the 
beautiful songs of the redeemed among men. 

Listen and you shall hear our voices. Come near 
unto us and we will draw near unto you. We will feed 
you from our ambrosial stores, and clothe you in fine 
linen, clean and white. Come unto us all ye that labor 
and are heavy laden, and we will give you rest. 

Amen and amen. 



LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE 
MANIFESTO. 



November, 1889. 

Elder Henry C. Blinn: — 

You gave us from your diary in the November Mani- 
festo, such a graphic account of your journey and visit to 
the Western Societies, that it almost seems that we went 
along with you on that delightful tour. You were very 
kind to write this up for us, and we thank you from our 
hearts. 

The November Manifesto is very interesting to us. 
The music, " Beautiful Shore," awakens memories of 
loved ones who have gone on before, and are now enjoy- 
ing the grandeur and beauty of that heavenly home; 
while our homes here are so vividly described that we 
cannot but feel how good it is to be joined to all that is 
lovely, pure, and true. 

Now I must own that the lesson for the Bible class is 
what has drawn me out to write you this letter. It will 
be very interesting to read the answers to the questions, 
and I hope a goodly number of pupils will respond, and 
by so doing be a credit and honor to their kind teachers. 



8o 



THE ALETHEIA. 



It seemed to me, good Elder Henry, while reading 
over these questions, that I would like to give you my 
ideas in regard to them, although they may greatly 
diverge from the opinions of others. 

First answer: The two verses of Psalms, used as a 
prayer, that to me are the sweetest and strongest, are 
the tenth and the eleventh verses of the eighty-fourth 
Psalm: " For a day in Thy courts is better than a thou- 
sand," etc. 

Second: Is there a more noble act of self-sacrifice 
recorded in the Old Testament than that made by Jeph- 
thah's daughter, when she yielded herself so willingly, 
that her father might keep the rash vow he had made 
unto the Lord? 

Third: As the opinion of an individual, I would say 
that the grandest character in the Old Testament is the 
Prophet Daniel. The purity of his life was very nearly 
like that of Jesus. He lived the angel virgin life, ap- 
proaching divinity. It seems that Joseph and Job were 
spotless characters, but they were upon the plane of 
nature. 

Fourth : The Book of Daniel is to me the most inter- 
esting book of the Old Testament, notwithstanding Rob- 
ert Elsmere tells us it is a fraud. In the last chapter is 
the sweetest prophecy of all: " Blessed is he that wait- 
eth, and cometh to the thousand, three hundred and five, 
and thirty days." Has that time come? and is Daniel 
now standing in his lot, at the end of the days? 



ELDER HENRY C. BLINN. 
Bishop of the Societies in New Hampshire. 

" Countless millions ages hence 

Shall sing and speak the praise 
Which fills the heart and moves the lips 
Of saints in latter days." 



HOME MATTERS. 



81 



Fifth: Matthew, eleventh chapter, commencing at the 
twenty-eighth verse: "Come unto me all ye that labor 
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," and so 
on, "and ye shall find rest unto your souls," with the 
conditions. What promise could be more comforting to 
the weary ? 

Sixth : Proverbs, thirteenth chapter, sixth and sev- 
enth verses, are very wise. 

Seventh: The forty-fifth Psalm is most joyous, and 
very significant to the followers of Mother Ann Lee: 
"My heart is inditing a good matter," etc. 

I must now come down from this height and write of 
home. In New Gloucester we have had an abundant 
crop of winter apples, very fair and free from defects. 
Many of these have been sold at a good price, but 
enough are stored with other fruits and vegetables for 
future use. Thus we are prepared to enter the cold 
season, happy in the anticipation of all temporal needs 
supplied, while the loving companionship of good Broth- 
ers and Sisters crowns the whole with joy unspeakable. 

Home comforts are not the least of the many blessings 
bestowed upon us by our Heavenly Father and Mother. 



6 



TRIBUTE TO ELDER GILES B. AVERY * 



Brothers and Sisters in Christ : — 

The great change which we all anticipate has come to 
our reverend Elder Giles. No more will he stand before 
us as of old, his countenance beaming with inspiration, 
hope and joy. But from those evergreen shores, by faith 
we still hear his voice and feel the' same power from his 
overflowing spirit. 

Long years ago, when very young, I remember hear- 
ing Elder Otis Sawyer say, " I have received a letter 
from an angel of the Lord." 

"And who might that angel be?" was the question 
propounded. 

He answered, "Giles B. Avery of Mount Lebanon, N. 
Y." That was before either of them took their later 
spiritual burdens. 

By and by he stood before us as one of the leaders of 
our fair Zion, and the impression was strong : There 

*Of the Central Ministry, who passed away from earth December 27, 
1890, at Watervliet, N. Y. 




L 



GILES B. AVERY. 
" The Angel of the LordP 

' I want to feel my spirit blest, 
Find for my soul a home of rest, 
And my union, pure and strong, 
With the heavenly orders moving on. 



TRIBUTE TO ELDER GILES B. AVERY. 83 

stands " the angel of the Lord." And so it has remained 
up to this day. 

There is a land of pure delight, 

It is not far away, 
And there, arrayed in garments white, 

Our Elder walks to-day. 
He sends to us a blessing pure, 

A message to abide, 
O Zion, thou wilt stand secure, 

For God is on thy side. 



LETTER TO COUNT LEO TOLSTOI * 



Sabbathday Lake, Maine, February, 1891. 

Dear Friend and Brother : — 

Here in America is a home prepared for those who 
desire to live pure lives, and the Christ spirit revealed 
through Ann Lee is the foundation thereof, and the 
spirits of the redeemed administer thereunto. 

The indwellers of this home are now beholding a light 
on the distant horizon. It is the light from your strong- 
hold, and it can never be quenched. 

Your companion, in that she is sacrificing herself to 
sustain you in your convictions of right and in living 
them out, is largely endued with the spirit of Christ. 
We are thankful at every thought that you have such 
a help at your side, and also that your daughter Titiana 
is proving herself worthy of such a father. 

In bringing to light the unfruitful works of darkness, 
you have gone to the depth of human depravity, as Ann 
Lee has done before you. 

* This letter was suggested by reading the "Kreutzer Sonata," and was 
forwarded to Count Leo Tolstoi at Tula, Russia, by Brother Alonzo 
Holister of Mt. Lebanon, N. Y. 



LETTER TO COUNT LEO TOLSTOI. 85 

' 1 She stripped a carnal nature 
Of all its deep disguise , 
And laid it plain and naked 
Before the sinner's eyes." 

You have done the same, and the sinners of the 
nations are now in a squirming condition. The Word 
which went forth from Ann Lee one hundred years ago 
has now gone forth from you, and the trumpet gives no 
uncertain sound. 

Ann Lee arose in the dawning of the morning and 
took upon herself the spirit of Christ, the same spirit 
that baptized the man Jesus. He was the first among 
many Brethren. She is the first among many Sisters. 
"And this is the name wherewith she shall be called, 
'The Lord of our Righteousness.'" 

The women of the nations are following in her wake, 
asserting themselves equal to their brothers, both in the 
sciences and governments. They will acknowledge her 
and confess her name when they find out the spirit that 
is leading them. 

Jesus was administered to by the spirits of the just. 
He saw them. His disciples saw them. And you, dear 
friend, have a mighty host around you. They whisper to 
your spirit ; you listen and write. They lay their hands 
of blessing upon you ; you feel and receive. 

God's people everywhere are sending you their love 
and encouragement. 

Your sister is the cause of self-denial. 



JESUS— BUDDHA— THE SERMON ON THE 

MOUNT. 



[From the Manifesto. ~\ 

In The Arena for March, 1892, Charles Schroder asks 
the question, "Where do we find the Christian teachers 
of any sect, creed, or denomination, who dare to preach 
and live, or even accept this grand sermon in its entire- 
ty?" If he should visit the Shaker Communities, he 
would find a people who do accept the Sermon on the 
Mount as their guide, whose aim is to control their lives 
by its teachings in every respect. He would find in 
them some who are true followers of Jesus, The Christ, 
and who have in reality entered 4 'The Path" and are 
walking the straight and narrow way. 

During the six hundred years from Buddha to Jesus, 
spiritual light was increasing, and Friend Schroder is 
right in ranking the teachings of Buddha second to 
those of Jesus. 

Both of these great teachers opened to the people a 
" Path, which the vultures eye hath not seen. The 
lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion 
passed by it." 



BUDDHA. 87 

"Enter the path," said Buddha, to those who would 
become his followers (among them were some of his 
nearest relatives) , when he returned from the wilderness, 
enlightened, illumined, and all animal passions subdued. 

" Straight is the gate and narrow is the way which 
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it," said 
Jesus. 

In all the ages that are passed, how few there have 
been who have entered the straight and narrow way and 
turned neither to the right nor to the left, but kept 
onward and upward until they have reached the heights 
for which they started. 

These, by the discipline brought to bear upon their 
daily lives, have found their spirits purified, all selfish- 
ness ' eradicated, and every evil passion subdued. That 
it can be done has been proved by loyal souls. If 
Friend Schroder will visit Mt. Lebanon, N. Y., East 
Canterbury, N. H., even our little home at Sabbathday 
Lake, Maine, or any of the Shaker Societies, he will find 
people who lift up their voices in denunciation of war, 
and all the evils of the day and also of the night. 

It is not because their number is small that they are 
not heard. The multitude have blinded their own eyes 
and stopped their own ears. They will not see, they 
will not hear. 



"THE SHAKERS AND THEIR HOMES."* 

[From the Manifesto. ~\ 

Sabbathday Lake, Me., February, 1893. 
Brothers and Sisters of the Highest Life : — 

From victory to victory in the path of purity you have 
walked from youthful days until the present time, and 
now as said the beloved apostle so can you say, "We 
know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in 
wickedness." 

Elder Giles B. Avery once said, "Zion is the working 
hands of God in the world." It then becomes the duty 
of believers to " sow light till the world is aglow." If 
we fail to do this, others may arise to take our birth- 
right, and it is now evident that light is greatly needed 
to shine abroad over the earth. 

Whenever we come in contact with those outside, we 
find that we are very imperfectly known unto them. 
The questions which meet us at every turn are like these : 
"What is your religious belief?" "What is the difference 
between you and the Quakers?" " Have you books that 
will inform us of your history and manner of life ? " 

*By Charles Edson Robinson. 



OUR CHILDREN. 



"THE SHAKERS AND THEIR HOMES." 89 

In answer to the last question, we tell them that we 
have books, large and small, and we have let them have 
a great many written by those of long spiritual travel 
and deep theological study and experience. Thousands 
will yet arise to call our good Father F. W. Evans 
blessed for the labors from his brain and pen, and also 
others who have toiled in the same field. 

But "variety is the spice of life," and one outside of 
our homes has written an interesting series of articles, in 
a very friendly spirit, giving the history of the Order 
from its commencement ; of the organization of the Soci- 
eties, and the foundation principles by which they are 
governed ; also biographical reminiscences, together with 
illustrations of nearly all our villages and some of our 
leading members. These articles have appeared during 
the last two years in the Manufacturer and Builder, a 
magazine published in New York City. 

The work has been revised and very kindly given to 
us, with the use of the plates for the illustrations, by the 
writer of the series, our good friend, Charles Edson Rob- 
inson, who it seems has made the lives of God's people 
a study, and is himself not far from the kingdom. 

At a sacrifice of time and labor the work is now being 
printed and put into book-form by Elder Henry C. 
Blinn, editor of the Manifesto. His reward is with him, 
to give unto the people according as their subscriptions 
to the books have been. 

In our correspondence with the Brothers and Sisters 



90 THE ALETHEIA. 

of the different Societies, in regard to the work, the kind 
spirit in which we have been answered has filled our 
hearts with thankfulness. We are particularly grateful 
for the approval and help of the Elders of the North 
Family, Mt. Lebanon. It is our hope and trust that in 
the future new editions of and additions to this work 
may be made, until "the knowledge of the Lord shall 
cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." Even now 
the tide of adversity is rolling back and prosperity's, 
waves are rolling in. 

The Voice of the Spirit will be heard to the uttermost 
parts of the earth. 

" For the angels are coming down from heaven, 
To bless the people anew, 
They are coming with rich and beautiful gifts 
For every one of you." 



ADDRESS TO THE SCHOOL AT SABBATHDAY 

LAKE. 



I was made happy this afternoon by an invitation to 
visit your school. I find that it has-been a very profita- 
ble term to you. The improvement that you have made 
is plainly to be seen. The teachers have done credit to 
themselves, and the pupils are a credit to their teachers. 

All who have attended here this winter are not schol- 
ars, but all are pupils. Appearances show that the 
pupils have been trying very hard to become scholars. 

Your school-days are slipping away, term after term. 

In future years you will recall these days as the happi- 
est period of your lives, and the very sight of an old 
book that you used in school will send a thrill of de- 
light through your whole being. 

As you advance in life, you will sense more and more 
the sacrifices that your teachers have made for you. Of 
these you can have but little idea now. I know the joys 
and the sorrows of a teacher's life. I know the hopes 
and the fears, and I know how the teacher enters into 
the little life of each child under her charge, and I know 
how it hurts her to take away your merits. But I hope 



92 THE ALETHEIA. 

you have not lost your merits. I hope you are all enti- 
tled to prizes. 

You are going out into the spring that will soon be 
upon us. The mayflowers will bloom in the green pas- 
tures, the violets and buttercups will appear, and many 
pleasures will be yours as you roam over the fields of 
your beautiful home. While you are enjoying all this, 
do not forget your school-lessons, but let them combine 
to teach you to be good men and good women in all 
your future years. 

You have many friends who are watching you anx- 
iously. You must not only be to them all that they 
expect, but, if possible, you must be to them all that 
they desire. 

And now farewell for the present. I hope to meet 
you here again in the lovely month of June. Then the 
birds will be singing in a thousand tree-tops, and the 
orchards and gardens will be blooming in beauty. 



INVOCATION. 



DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION OF THE NEW CEN- 
TER DWELLING, THANKSGIVING DAY, 1884. 

"Will God dwell on the earth?" 

Behold, the Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens can 
not contain thee, how much less this house that has 
been built unto thy name! Yet have thou respect unto 
the prayers of thy people this day, that thine eyes may 
be open towards this house in all coming time. For 
thou hast said, " My name shall be there." 

Our Heavenly Father and Mother, who sustained our 
parents who have gone before, who opened a way for 
them in the wilderness, and strengthened their hands to 
build up this beautiful home for us to enjoy, grant that 
this house that stands on the site of the one they reared 
may be a continuation of the same, with an increase. 

Hear thou the voice of prayer and praise which 
ascends to thy throne this day, from thy consecrated 
and devoted people. 

Bless thou the spirits of the fathers and mothers who 
have laid down their lives in this place. 

And, O bless with a special blessing Elder Otis Saw- 



94 THE ALETHEIA. 

yer, who went out from among us in the midst of his 
labors in the beauty and glory of heavenly light ; whose 
spirit is now here, a watchful guardian, beaming with the 
brightness and joys of immortal youth. 

And, O our Heavenly Father and Mother, grant that a 
double portion of thy blessing may rest upon our be- 
loved leaders, the Ministry of the Bishopric in Maine. 
May the heavy burdens be lifted, and their spirits filled 
with joy unspeakable. 

And all our loving Elders, hear thou from thy throne 
in the heavens, that the sunshine of thy love may abide 
with them forever. 

Send thou a message of peace to the aged ones who 
meet here and renew the heart of each toiling brother 
and sister. 

May this day long be remembered by every little child 
whose home is in the beautiful Zion of God in this place. 
Amen and amen. 



NEW YEAR'S GREETING. 



[From the Manifesto.^ 
Brothers and Sisters of the Household of Faith: — 

Our good Sister Ada S. Cummings, who writes our 
monthly notes for the Manifesto, has some trouble with 
her eyes and therefore must be careful for the present. 
As she cannot write until the time will be past for you to 
receive our New Year's greeting in the January number, 
I thought I would tell you that we at Sabbathday Lake 
wish you all a happy New Year. 

It is a hazy Sabbath, not what we would call foggy, for 
the sun is shining almost through, and it makes us think 
that heaven is beyond only a little way. We attended 
our religious service and heaven appeared right in our 
midst, no haze to separate. Eldress Harriet Goodwin 
spoke beautifully to the youth and children, and said that 
she had noticed a marked improvement in their deport- 
ment, and this is what her loving motherly eye is quick 
to see. Their Elders and teachers spare no pains with 
them, and they show that they are giving good heed to 
the kind instruction which they receive from day to day. 

This afternoon I visited Sister Ada and her company 



g6 THE ALETHEIA. 

of little girls. They were just arranging for a meeting of 
their own. I asked if I could be a spectator, and liberty 
was granted at once. They had leaders appointed from 
their own number, and the order was perfect. The gifts 
of the spirit were really made manifest. 

Toward the close of the meeting I taught them the 
"Celestial March" and other religious exercises, which 
made the worship of our fathers and mothers so beau- 
tiful ; and that caused me to think of the pure and holy 
lives which our fathers and mothers lived. O how white 
and clean are the spiritual robes of the children of the 
resurrection ! 

These are Sabbathday notes and temporal matters are 
left out. So in the commencement of the New Year we 
will seek the spiritual first, then the temporal blessings 
will be added. 



B - 



3 3 



g- o 



WINTER. 



[From the Manifesto.~\ 

" 'Tis done ! Dread Winter spreads his latest glooms, 
And reigns tremendous o'er the conquered year." 

What is that to us? We but slightly feel its effects, 
hived together as we are in our pleasant dwellings, 
enjoying the hoarded increase of our broad fields, our 
gardens, orchards and vineyards. We saw the spring, 
summer and autumn pass away, while joys and sorrows 
alternately filled our cup. We mingled our tears when 
affliction's wave rolled over, and exulted together in the 
blissful hour. 

Pleasant memories arise of much that we have enjoyed 
in the year that has passed, particularly, those seasons 
when our brothers and sisters visited us from other Soci- 
eties of Believers. You came to see us from your beau- 
tiful homes, and with you came a blessing that passeth 
not away with the onward flow of time. 

We remember when we united in songs of praise in 
the sanctuary, and the word went forth for judgment and 
mercy to all who would listen, from far and near. We 
remember pleasant walks over this consecrated domain, 

7 



98 THE ALETHEIA. 

and rides over the hills and dales of the neighboring 
towns. Those days are passed, but the joy remaineth. 

A good aged father, Albert Battles, from the Society 
of Enfield, Conn., visited us in the beautiful month of 
June, and in a social meeting sang of his great love to 
Mother Ann Lee, who held aloft the standard of purity, 
and revealed principles which are now widely accepted. 
We were awakened to a realizing sense of the vastness 
of her mission, overthrowing creeds, and establishing 
theories which cannot be shaken by the increase of light 
in the world, nor the forward march of science. 

" O my mother, my blessed mother, 

Her name to me is dear ; 
I '11 praise her name, I '11 spread her fame, 

And kings and priests shall hear. 
There 's many thousands praised her name, 

And shall be many more ; 
Yea, millions, millions, tens of millions 

Shall her name adore." 

Father James Whittaker, when a young man in Eng- 
land, saw a vision of the Order that was yet to be estab- 
lished in America, and it was like unto a beautiful tree — 
every leaf thereof shone with the brightness of the sun. 
Those leaves are gems of priceless worth, held in place 
by the branches, receiving nourishment from the root, 
drawing life from the atmosphere around, the rain, the 
dew and the sunshine of the heavens. Those leaves are 
my brothers and sisters inhabiting the Zion of God, 



WINTER. 99 

clothed with the love and growing in the likeness of our 
Heavenly Parents. 

In worship, I have seen them pass and re-pass each 
other like the angels, singing : — 

" 'T is the kind words, 'tis the sweet words, 
That cheer the down-hearted, 
That lift up the spirit 
From doubt and despair. 

0 then I will speak them 
Unto you, my brother ! 

1 '11 breathe forth a blessing 
To you, my dear sister." 



VISIT TO THE SOCIETY AT ALFRED. 



[From the Manifesto.~] 

Sabbathday Lake, Me., November, 1896. 
Beloved Elder Henry : — 

I write to tell you of my visit to Alfred in the days of 
the Indian summer, from the twenty-fourth to the thirty- 
first of October. 

By the Portland and Rochester train we were brought 
directly overland, in plain sight of the village, around the 
east side of the beautiful Massabesic Lake, to Alfred 
Corner, two miles from our destination. Here we were 
met by Brother Frank Libby and Eldresses Harriet Good- 
win and Eliza R. Smith, with a carriage to take us home. 

It was a lovely ride along the lakeside, the autumnal 
foliage decking the forests as far as the eye could see, 
amid slight zephyrs, the thought of which was just suffi- 
cient to fan away all earthly cares. In the society of 
those we love, how quickly time passes ! We soon arrive 
at the office. Here we find Sister Lucinda Taylor waiting 
to receive us, and by her kindness and that of those with 
her all our needs are anticipated and ministered unto. 

And now a thought of the sudden change — a week to 




ELDER HENRY G. GREEN. 
Alfred, York County, Maine. 

" There is a kingdom forever increasing 

Where robes of redemption are worn, 
Where the sun of righteousness beaming 

Createth an eternal morn. 
I am winning that kingdom so holy, 

I am weaving those garments so fair, 
Enshrouding my soul in bright glory, 

As the cross through life's burdens I bear." 



VISIT TO THE SOCIETY AT ALFRED. IOI 

rest from the cares and burdens incident to home life, 
that, during the past season, from the rush of business, 
was almost overpowering. Instead of caring for others, 
all are striving to care for you. 

Upon the Sabbath we met for divine service. Promi- 
nent in the assembly were our venerable Elders, Joshua 
Bussell and Hiram Tarbox, in spirit firm as the hills, 
bearing the same testimony that we have often heard 
from them in the days that are past, both here and in 
our home at Sabbathday Lake. Beloved and conse- 
crated ones, your spiritual children will reap in joy what 
you have sown in tears. 

I cannot tell you of all the joys of those days, for space 
will not permit, but I will speak of the willow trees that I 
went to see one afternoon. They grew by the side of 
the old road over which Father James Whittaker came 
when he visited Alfred in the year 1785. He, and the 
Elders with him, stuck the withes that they had driven 
their horses with into the ground. They took root and 
grew to be these great trees, nearly three feet in diam- 
eter. The one that Father James set has fallen, and 
from the side of the trunk three or four large willows 
are growing. These will be succeeded by others. The 
root will not die out and, as the willow trees grow on 
and on, the seeds of eternal truth which Father James 
planted in this place will also grow. Those principles 
will never die. These were my thoughts as I stood up- 
on the log of the fallen willow on that lovely afternoon. 



102 



THE ALETHEIA. 



In the cemetery we saw the names of the fathers and 
mothers who gave themselves, with all they had, to 
found this home for those who would follow in their 
footsteps, and live the high and pure life required of the 
sons and daughters of God. The final consecration was 
made when the Society was organized in the year 1793. 
Here they spent the remainder of their lives, living to- 
gether as brothers and sisters, sharing equally in every 
temporal blessing. I noticed the names John Barnes, 
Elisha Pote, Rebecca Hodgdon, and many others. 
Names to be remembered in all coming time by those 
who tread the straight and narrow way which they 
marked out. Their lives were not in vain. "The stone 
that smote the image became a great mountain and filled 
the whole earth." 

I returned to my home at Sabbathday Lake on Satur- 
day, the thirty-first. Elder Henry G. Green, of the Al- 
fred Society, came also, and we had the blessing of his 
presence over the Sabbath, and several days following. 
The young receive encouragement, and the weak in faith 
are strengthened by his steadfast spirit. 

As I have in mind at this time, the home at Alfred, 
" Beautiful for situation," and also the home at Sabbath- 
day Lake, I exclaim with the prophet, "How goodly are 
thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! As 
the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the riv- 
er's side, as the trees of lign-aloes which the Lord hath 
planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters." 



TO THE CEDARS OF LEBANON. 



' ' The Lord is in his holy temple ; let all the earth keep silence 
before him." 

" His foundation is in the holy mountains." 

Therefore "my heart is inditing a good matter." It is 
of the " Mount Lebanon Cedar Boughs," a book the 
literature of which is of the highest type, gems of poetic 
genius, written by the Queen's Daughters, whose cloth- 
ing is of wrought gold. By them it is dedicated not 
only to the household of faith, but to all yearning souls 
in the wide, wide world. 

They are boughs from the Cedars of Lebanon. The 
trees are still there, waving in grandeur and beauty. 
They are poems sent forth to enlighten and educate, and 
to make manifest the intellectual power that has been 
attained in the spiritual communistic life. Under no 
other condition can a door be open for such a pure and 
refined education as that acquired in the home that has 
peen prepared, whose foundation is in the holy mountain. 

Here in this favored retreat minds have been disci- 
plined until sordid desires have been subdued, selfish- 
ness destroyed, and the animal nature overcome. From 



104 THE ALETHEIA. 

this altitude they look upon the children of men, ever 
ready to lend a helping hand to draw them up to higher 
and purer lives. It is to this cause they give their 
strength from day to day, and as they give, they renew 
their strength from the overflowing fountain of God's 
love. They walk and do not faint, they run and do not 
weary. 

Here also is found that mine of intellectual wealth 
from which these Cedar Boughs have emanated. We 
read one poem ; it is beautiful, and we want to call your 
attention to it. We read another ; it is equally good, 
and so on, from the beginning to the end of the book. 

The Mother in the Deity is here made manifest. The 
Mother Spirit in the New Creation here stands in her 
place. The virgins that follow her are brought unto 
the King in raiment of needlework; with gladness and 
rejoicing they come, for grace is poured into their lips. 
They ride prosperously, because of truth and meekness 
and righteousness. 

Thus the Cedars of Lebanon wave in majesty, distilling 
dew and sending forth "boughs" for the healing of the 
nations. 

The Daughters of Zion have arisen to thresh and to 
beat in pieces many peoples, and they will " consecrate 
their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the 
Lord of the whole earth." 

Amen, so let it be. 



DEDICATION AT POLAND SPRINGS OF THE 
MAINE STATE BUILDING* 



ALSO THE CELEBRATION OF THE CENTENNIAL OF 
THE RICKER. FAMILY AS HOTEL PROPRIETORS 
IN THE TOWN OF POLAND, ME., JULY ist, 1895. 

The day was seemingly made for the occasion. It was 
a beautiful day when the great men of the State of 
Maine met upon her loveliest spot of ground. 

The Shakers had been kindly invited by the proprie- 
tors to be present, and be assured we availed ourselves 
of the privilege. 

A number of our people went early and had front 
seats. Our carriage came a little later and stopped in 
the road opposite. We were near enough to hear dis- 
tinctly all that was said, and see the speakers upon the 
platform. 

We heard the governor of the State, Honorable Henry 
B. Cleaves, deliver an able address. The next speaker 
was a Judge Advocate-General of Massachusetts. 

* Removed from the World's Columbian Exposition Grounds at Chi- 
'cago, 111., and re-erected in the grove near the Poland Spring House 
by Hiram Ricker & Sons. 



io6 



THE ALETHEIA. 



Senator Eugene Hale was then introduced. I would 
like to tell you all that he said, but can only give you a 
small portion. He apostrophized the building, and said 
to it, " My young friend, if you are wise and sensible 
stay right where you are and thank the Lord that you 
are out of Chicago. You ought to feel like a man who 
has just emerged from an election riot in the lower 
streets of New York City, and has launched himself into 
the placidity of a Shaker meeting here in the State of 
Maine. You ought to be glad that you are rid of noise, 
and temptation, and anarchists, my young friend, and 
that you have come down here where Nature sits at her 
best, and broods lovingly over such a scene as human 
eyes have rarely witnessed." 

He then spoke of what the Rickers had done here in 
the past and in the present. He said: "They do 
everything in a delightful way — do it handsomely, do it 
well. They are great benefactors. Talk about the dis- 
covery of America in 1492, I am inclined to think that 
Hiram Ricker, who discovered this spring, was a greater 
benefactor than Christopher Columbus. The man who 
is able to give us a good digestion, sleep all night, and 
that perpetual serenity which the old English essayists 
talk about, does more good than the man who dis- 
covers a country." 

Senator Hale said much more, equally interesting and 
true, when Senator William P. Frye took the stand. He 
kept the people laughing, and the applause was so great 



SPEECHES. IO7 

that we could hardly hear what he said; but we know 
the mothers and sisters of the Ricker family were 
brought in for their share of the honors of building up 
this beautiful place. God bless him for this! And he 
spoke of another mother, whose home was in sight upon 
another hill like unto this, who reared up so many of the 
great men of the nation, namely, the Washburns. Thus 
he held the people entranced throughout the length of 
his speech. 

The next speaker was Hon. Nelson Dingley, Jr. We 
listened spellbound to his glowing words, but his dis- 
course was altogether too short, for it was but a few 
minutes before the chairman introduced Hon. Charles 
A. Boutelle, of Bangor, Maine, Member of Congress. 

In the course of his speech he, in a vein of mirthful- 
ness, mentioned Massachusetts as once being a part of 
Maine. He said: "We are proud of Massachusetts. 
We are glad of what she has achieved with the assistance 
which we have given her from time to time. We are 
glad that we have furnished her her best Governors, 
such as Andrew and Long. We are proud that we 
have given her her merchant princes," etc. His words 
sent a thrill of delight through the audience, especially 
those who were natives of Maine. We were glad to be 
reminded of how much the dear old State of Maine had 
to be proud of in her daughter, Massachusetts. 

The last speaker was Gen. A. P. Martin, of Boston. 
He kept up the interest by a fine flow of oratory. His 



io8 



THE ALETHEIA. 



native place was about three miles distant, in New 
Gloucester. He loved these hills and dales, over which 
he roamed in the days of his boyhood. He quoted 
poetry, and his themes were grand and beautiful. 

The dinner hour had now arrived, and all were called 
to a sumptuous repast, such as only can be found at the 
Poland Spring Hotel, given freely by the proprietors to 
the hundreds of people who were upon the ground that 
lovely day. 

Thus passed one of the most pleasant seasons in our 
existence. Not only was the dedication of the Maine 
building a complete success, but the centennial of the 
Ricker family as hotel proprietors in Poland was made 
prominent by each of the speakers. 

A little over one hundred years ago, Eliphaz Ring, the 
Shaker, owned this hill with the broad fields and wood- 
lands bordering on the lakes. He owned the spring, 
and drank its healing waters without a thought. Little 
did he imagine what the future would develop. But it 
was not for him nor his posterity. He heard and 
obeyed the call to a higher life, when the Shakers held 
meetings in these homes, commencing in November 
1783. He occupied his home here with his family until 
the time of the organization of the Shaker Society at 
Alfred, Maine, in 1793. Our Society at Sabbathday 
Lake was organized under the same leadership, the 19th 
of April, 1794, as was stated in a former chapter. 

Jabez Ricker, ancestor of these proprietors, owned one 




MAINE STATE BUILDING. 
In the grove near the Poland Spring House, South Poland, Maine. 



SHAKER FAMILIES. IO9 

of the farms where the Society at Alfred is located. He 
owned the mill privilege. By an act of kindness to the 
Shakers, he consented to exchange farms with Eliphaz 
Ring, and moved his family to this hill and here opened 
a hotel one hundred years ago. By this bargain the 
Shakers in Alfred came into possession of their valuable 
mill-privilege, and some of their richest lands between 
the beautiful lakes, Massabesic and Bunganut. 

Eliphaz Ring moved his family to Alfred about this 
time, and they were among the leading members of the 
Shaker Society while they lived. I think that none of 
them turned back to the old way. 

Ruth, a daughter of Eliphaz, had married Thomas 
Cushman of Buckfield, Maine. They became Shakers, 
and went to Alfred with the Ring family. They had two 
sons. One of them chose the Shaker life, and became a 
highly-respected member and Elder in the Alfred Soci- 
ety. The other son remained outside, and is the ances- 
tor of some of the nicest people in Auburn, Maine. 

Thomas Cushman was the financial leader of the Al- 
fred Society a number of years. He afterwards became 
Bishop of the three Societies in Maine. He was loved 
by all the people, but they had to part with him. He 
died in the year 1816, being only fifty-seven years of 
age. His successor was Elisha Pote, of whom mention 
has been made in this book. 

The Society at Gorham, Maine, moved to the southern 
Rang Hill, one mile from Poland Springs, in 1819. In 



1IO THE ALETHEIA. 

1887 it was merged into the Society at Sabbathday Lake. 

Thus we see that God's ways, though to us inscrutable 
at the time, have in these cases finally brought good to 
all concerned. 



THE SHAKER SETTLEMENTS OF CANTERBURY 
AND ENFIELD, N. H. 



[From the Manifesto.^ 

It was a lovely morning — October 22d, 1897 — when 
Elders William Dumont and Henry Green, Eldress Eliz- 
abeth Haskell and the writer started from Alfred, Maine, 
for a visit to the Societies of Believers in New Hamp- 
shire. Through a clear, crisp atmosphere the smoking 
engine hurried us along over hill and through dale, by 
pleasant woodlands and cultivated farms to Alton Bay. 
Then for a number of miles along the shores of Lake 
Winnipiseogee, through whose clear, placid waters could 
be plainly seen the white, pebbly bottom of the lake. 
One view of Mt. Washington, far to the north-west, and 
we are of! to Laconia, at which station we are made 
glad by meeting two brethren from Canterbury, Elders 
Benjamin Smith and Arthur Bruce, with carriages to 
take us to their pleasant village, twelve miles distant. 
We arrive as the shades of evening are falling, and are 
welcomed to one of our most beautiful homes by our 
own Brothers and Sisters. All things needed for our 
comfort are amply provided by their love and care. The 



112 



THE ALETHEIA. 



days of our visit come and go, all pleasant days, bring- 
ing pleasures and surprises manifold. 

In the office of the Manifesto, our beloved Elder, 
Henry C. Blinn explains to us the machinery by which 
our thoughts are stamped upon paper, and the little 
pamphlets are made which carry our ideas to the So- 
cieties of Believers and to the outside world ; all done un- 
der his watchful guidance. He then took us to his 
museum, where are carefully stored many relics of old, 
so interesting to us in these latter days. We saw the 
skeleton in the closet, reminding us that we are "fear- 
fully and wonderfully made," and while these earthly 
forms are moldering in the dust, the spirit, which is the 
reality, is marching on in the beautiful life beyond. 

We are visiting with those we long have loved, and 
are surrounded by scenes which call to mind historical 
events of the old times. Not the least of these is the 
building in which the Sacred Roll was printed in the 
year 1843. Before us we seem to see Philemon Stewart 
in all the glory of his great inspiration. Of our com- 
pany, only one can remember those days. 

The evenings are delightfully enjoyed. One evening 
we listened to the quartet, to the piano and organ, the 
next to the orchestra ; but the evening in which the pil- 
grims marched to the Holy City was the entertainment 
which took the palm. We saw the beautiful city with its 
battlements and towers. We saw the shining ones pass- 
ing out and in, guiding the pilgrims along their weary 



DAVID PARKER. 



Formerly Trustee, East Canterbiiry, N. H. 

" Not all a dream, a passing dream, 

Is Life's unfoldment here ; 
Earth's brightest glories are but gleams 

From out the inner sphere. 
What hopes and longings fill the heart, 

And lift the mind on high — 
They tell that the immortal part 

Can never, never die." 



SHAKER SETTLEMENTS. I I 3 

way. We saw Doubt and Scorn and all the powers of 
evil vanquished. Then the door was opened to receive 
them, amid the rejoicing of the angels. 

Under the loving control of Eldress Dorothy A. Dur- 
gin these entertainments are perfected and carried out. 
The magnetism of her spirit smooths down the rough- 
ness, always strengthening the weak and drawing out 
the good. It is the divine Mother Spirit in her, per- 
sonified. 

" Beauty reigns all around thy borders, 
Where her lovely feet have trod ; 
Peace and order, love and union, 
In the power and gift of God." 

As time passes on the Sabbath comes. This day is 
marred by no cloud. It is a perfect day. At the ap- 
pointed hour the sanctuary is opened, not only for the 
Believers, but also for those friends who choose to 
attend. The singing is in perfect harmony, and most 
beautiful and inspiring. 

In this service we had the privilege of listening to a 
discourse from Brother T. A. Dwyer, late from the out- 
side churches, and now established in the New Jerusalem 
which hath come down from God out of heaven. The 
Word is held forth in perfect language, and as the testi- 
mony of true Shakerism falls from his lips, we cannot 
wonder that the two thousand who listened to his plead- 
ing tones in the Universalist church in Laconia, turned 
to their homes in tears of joy and new resolves for the 



I 14 THE ALETHEIA. 

future. Thus will the old heavens and earth pass away 
and all things become new. This day came to a close 
like the others, and it will never be forgotten. 

In the course of the coming week, Elder Henry C. 
Blinn and Eldress Emeline Hart conducted us to their 
home in Enfield. Eldress Joanna Kaime met us at the 
door, and her kind welcome gave us the assurance that 
we were not among strangers, but with our near and 
dear relations. Great kindness is shown to us in this 
home, where Elder Abraham Perkins spent so many 
years of his devoted life, the home of his heart's deep 
love. 

We remained nearly a week in this beautiful place. 
Visited the North Family, which was the home of Elder 
John Lyon, that great expounder, who kept the sieve full 
and kept it shaking. Would that he were here now, to 
continue the work until the deserted villages were filled 
with the "Elect," " sought out and chosen." 

The scenery here is magnificent. The brethren of 
our company went to a lake far up the mountain, on the 
west, fifteen hundred feet above the level of the village, 
from which the Society is always sure of an abundant 
supply of water. It seems to be in the crater of an old 
volcano, and there is no danger that it will ever break 
away and damage property. 

Elder William Wilson very kindly took us around 
Mascoma Lake, east of the village, pointed out the spot 
where the first Shaker meeting was held in New Hamp- 



LUCY ANN SHEPARD. 



Trustee, East Canterbury, N. H. 

" As the dew of the morning, or as bright rivers roll, 
So freely God's blessings flow into my soul. 
I walk in his presence as one greatly blest, 
On whose soul the love of his work is impressed " 



SHAKER SETTLEMENTS. I 1 5 

shire, where the home of James Jewett, the first convert, 
was situated, and where John Cotton received faith, he 
being the first one to bring the gospel testimony, after 
the order of our Church, into the State of Maine. That 
meeting was held the 8th of September, 1782. 

We stopped a day over our time that we might meet 
Eldress Rosetta Cummings and Sister Caroline Whitcher, 
and three young Sisters who were absent from home. 
We enjoyed a lovely visit with them in the afternoon. 
In the evening we had our farewell visit with the Minis- 
try and Elders, only for the present, however; many 
meetings are to be in the future. 

The next day we were taken to the station by Brother 
George Baxter, and, saying farewell to him until our next 
meeting, we retraced our way to Canterbury. When we 
arrived in Concord the rain was falling in gentle showers. 
Elder Henry Green left us at this point for Boston, 
homeward bound. We were expecting Sister Lucy Ann 
Shepard and a company of Sisters from Canterbury, who 
were on their way to Boston. We enjoyed an hours 
visit with these loved ones, and then went on to Canter- 
bury with the young brethren, leaving the sisters to take 
the train. When we drove up to the office, many anx- 
ious ones were there to meet us ; although the rain was 
pouring, the quartet was out, singing of the "patter, pat- 
ter of the rain." 

One day more in lovely Canterbury, which is to be 
well improved. W r e are granted another short visit with 



n6 



THE ALETHEIA. 



our dearly loved Sister Asenath Stickney, who is suffer- 
ing from injuries received from a severe fall ; also an 
additional visit with Sister Harriet Hastings, whom we 
have all known to love. Then we enjoy a delightful 
season with Elder Abraham Perkins, and tell him of our 
visit to his home in Enfield. He bears up remarkably 
under his ninety years. 

By the kindness of our Canterbury friends, Sister 
Edna E. Fitts is to accompany us to our home at Sab- 
bathday Lake, stay with us during the winter and teach 
music. The last morning arrived, and with Sister Edna 
we were taken to the station in Laconia. Here we part 
with Elder Benjamin and Elder Arthur, who have been 
so kind to us, and are on our way home. We stop 
at Alfred over night, and go on to Sabbathday Lake the 
next day. All is well. We again take up the thread of 
life in the old accustomed way. Our music teacher 
arranges her classes and commences her labor of love. 
Music is in the atmosphere and a song of rejoicing in 
our souls, — a song that can only be learned by the hun- 
dred forty and four thousand. The half has not been 
told. 



THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



The light, at first a glimmer 

Along the eastern way, 
Is beaming forth in splendor 

The dawning of the day. 
White mists, like billowy mountains, 

From water-courses rise, 
And sparkling with the sunbeams, 

Blend with ethereal skies. 

Throughout the gloom and darkness 

We kept the vestal light, 
And heard the voice from Seir, 
" Watchman, what of the night?" 
" Behold the morning cometh, 
The Mighty One is here." 
Was sounded from the watch-tower, 
"The Judgment Day is near." 

O not as ye expected 

Does Gabriel's trumpet sound ! 
The still, small voice, in whispers, 

Is heard by all around. 
O not as ye expected 

Does Christ through heaven ride ! 
The Living God is in you, 

You can not turn aside. 



THE ALETHEIA. 



And not as ye expected 

Will Christ atone for you ; 
The light which now ariseth 

Will search you through and throu 
Upon the vestal altars 

The holocaust is slain, 
And fires thereon are burning 

The pride of man to stain. 

And not as ye expected 

Will all the dead arise ; 
The dead in sin are hastening 

To make the sacrifice. 
The bruised reed is strengthened, 

The sick and lame are healed 
And to the feast invited, — 

The Book is now unsealed. 

Come ye unto the banquet, 

The door no man can close, 
And war has been proclaimed 

Against inherent foes. 
With Michael's mighty army 

Defy the man of sin. 
O not as ye expected 

The Judgment Days rolls in ! 



THE STORY OF GRANVILLE MERRILL, WHICH 
IS AN ACCOUNT OF ONE OF THE 
MIRACLES OF THE AGE. 



Granville Merrill was a man of God. 

He became a member of the Shaker Society at the 
age of twenty-nine years. 

Nathan Merrill, who was the first person that em- 
braced Shakerism in New Gloucester, Maine, was his 
great-grandfather. That was in November, 1783. He 
was a brick mason, and went to Alfred to help the 
people there build chimneys. It happened to be at the 
time that the Shaker ministers arrived with John Cotton 
from Enfield, N. H. 

Many of the Alfred and Gorham people became 
Shakers. Prominent among them was Elisha Pote. 
His father's home was here in New Gloucester, also his 
brother Samuel's. Their two farms are included in this 
property. 

Nathan Merrill, with Elisha Pote, who afterwards be- 
came the Presiding Elder of the Societies in Maine, and 
some others came here and held meetings — Elisha did 
the preaching. 



120 



THE ALETHEIA. 



Nathan Merrill was the first to accept the faith. Then 
his family and many others became Shakers. This has 
all been recorded and need not be repeated here. 

In one of the first years Nathan's son Amos and one 
of the Shaker sisters, Mary Twombly, fell away and were 
married. They were the parents of Hiram Merrill, the 
father of Granville. 

There was more or less Shaker faith in all those who 
turned away, and their descendants inherited in a 
measure the same spirit. 

Granville's grandmother, who was Mary Twombly, 
when she was quite aged, came here to see the aged 
sisters, who were the companions of her girlhood days. 
They wept together. She said, "I wish you had not al- 
lowed me to go, I wish you had tied me in the old wash- 
house garret." The sisters said, "You did not feel in 
that way then." 

Granville Merrill was born January 22d, 1839, in New 
Gloucester, Maine, about two miles south of Shaker 
village. 

The neighborhood was in a low state morally. He 
was taught to smoke tobacco when only three years of 
age. Men would come to his father's house to spend 
social evenings and almost always had their liquor. 
Granville's father had him carry round the glasses and 
treat the company, and gave him a little for himself, 
which, he said, would slip down easily. Of course there 
was more or less drunkenness, with its attendant evils. 




ELDER JOSEPH HOLDEN. 

Of the Central Ministry, Mount Lebanon, N. Y. 

United in bonds of one sweet communion, 
Worldliness bears no charm for souls, 
Riches will perish with all earthly treasures, 
While spiritual life will always remain. 

j. H. 



THE STORY OF GRANVILLE MERRILL. 121 

In this atmosphere Granville lived and moved and had 
his being until he arrived at manhood. 

When about nineteen years of age he was hired by the 
Shakers. Worked for them nearly ten years before he 
thought of being a Shaker. He had a pleasant disposi- 
tion, was honest and a faithful workman. Towards the 
last of that time he was married, and had a child who 
was not born until after he became a Shaker. 

When he was about twenty-eight years of age, he was 
what is called converted, in a revival meeting that was 
held near his home, and became a praying Christian. 

When asked which denomination he intended to join, 
he said he did not know. He would read the New 
Testament and see what Jesus said, and join the church 
that came the nearest to the teachings of Jesus. 

So he read, and the more he read the clearer he saw 
that the Shakers were living the life laid down in the 
New Testament. Now came the struggle. Whenever 
he prayed, the promise he had made would rise up before 
him. Then he would stop praying and suffer from a 
condemned conscience. 

He went on in this way several weeks, until he could 
bear it no longer. He knew it was the call of God to him 
to sacrifice all worldly pleasures and enter the straight 
and narrow way and become one of the sons of God. 

Now when his mind was made up he testified his faith 
both publicly and privately, and commenced to use the 
simple "yea" and " nay" of believers. 



122 THE ALETHEIA. 

It was a fearful trial to his wife. He made every 
effort to bring her over to his way of thinking. In this 
he failed and she became the foe of his household. He 
gave her his earnings, which amply supplied all she 
needed for herself and the child. They owned a little 
place free and clear, which now she enjoyed by herself 
while he took up his abode with the brethren. 

After a while she sued for a divorce, alleging that her 
husband had joined the Shakers. The divorce was 
granted, for which Granville paid the costs. He also 
gave her the place and one hundred dollars in money. 

He now considered himself free and gave all his in- 
terests to the people of his choice, and became fully con- 
secrated to the Cause of Believers. 

He never saw his little boy after this. The child soon 
went to live with his grandparents on the mother's side. 
She went away and in due course of time was married 
again. Her maiden name was Anna Partridge. 

Thus our brother bade adieu to his wife and child 
and all worldly relations. His testimonies were crisp 
and pointed. On one occasion he said these words : 

"I have entered the straight and narrow way and will 
turn neither to the right nor to the left. By the help of 
God every evil shall go under my feet." 

He made his first confession in the presence of Alonzo 
Gilman, who was at that time the novitiate Elder. As 
Granville's home was in the lower village, he was one 



THE STORY OF GRANVILLE MERRILL. I 23 

mile away from where Elder Alonzo was stationed at 
Poland Hill. 

One day he went up to do this momentous work. 
Elder Alonzo happened at that time to be very busily 
engaged in hand labor, and could not attend to him. 
The burden did not fall from his shoulders at the foot 
of the cross, like that of Bunyan's Pilgrim. He had to 
take it back home and wait for another opportunity. He 
went up the next day and again found Elder Alonzo too 
busy to give him his attention. So he brought the bur- 
den back. In two or three days he went up the third 
time and found Elder Alonzo prepared, and the burden 
fell from his shoulders. He had carried it up that steep 
hill to the foot of the cross three times, but the release- 
ment was to him a sure reward. 

It was only temporal labor that hindered Alonzo from 
attending to that most sacred duty. That was not right. 
The spiritual should always come first. But the trial did 
not hurt Granville. 

From this day his walk was straight and every indul- 
gence cut off. As required of all believers, he put his 
hands to work and gave his heart to God. 

It was a shock to his constitution to leave off tobacco, 
which he had always used, but by a strong will power he 
accomplished the feat, and never indulged in that vile 
weed from the day he started in the self-denying way 
until he closed this life. 

Up at four o'clock in the morning to his work at the 



124 THE ALETHEIA. 

mill or wherever it might be. Breakfast with the 
brethren at six and right back to his work, no lingering 
in the waiting-room. To dinner in the same way. No 
nooning. Ready for the meeting in the evening, always 
in possession of a spirit determined for the right and the 
right alone. Pleasant and cheerful through all that 
might arise to cloud the day. Ready and willing to go 
here and there when desired to make repairs, wherever 
they were needed. Thus he was always found to be the 
same kind brother. 

He began missionary work soon after he came in. 
There was a young man living in the family of our next 
neighbor. His name was William Dumont, nineteen 
years of age. Though of a lively disposition, he was of 
a thoughtful turn of mind. Our aged Elder Joseph 
Brackett said one day, "William Dumont would make a 
good Shaker, and I will get him if I can." Granville 
made answer : "I have thought the same thing and will 
do all I can to help draw him out from the sea." He 
then began with prayers and spiritual labors whenever 
an opportunity presented itself. He was very persis- 
tent, and the work soon be^an to have an effect. 

After a while our young brother acknowledged hear- 
ing the call to a higher life. Then the struggle com- 
menced, for he had been promised a vessel and was to be 
the captain. He had many misgivings and finally came 
to the conclusion that he could live the higher life out- 
side and not bind himself to this community. 




WILLIAM DUMONT. 
Sabbathday Lake, Maine. 

" The pearl of true worth, the gift of salvation 
Is free for all who the price will pay, 
A fullness of spiritual beauty and glory, 
O'ershadows the pilgrim's upward way." 



THE STORY OF GRANVILLE MERRILL. 1 25 

When Granville found where he stood he gave him a 
searching look and said, "They that are not for us are 
against us, and they that gather not with us scatter 
abroad." 

Thus our young brother found every weapon taken 
from his hands, and made up his mind to a full consecra- 
tion. In this he has remained faithful to this day, and is 
now the leading elder of the Societies in Maine, our 
Elder William Dumont. 

Granville was always doing good works, and works 
that followed him. He was a first-class mechanic. Made 
with his own hands a large clock and hung it at the top 
of one of the buildings. To-day, it can be heard striking 
nearly two miles away, and is doing the full duty for 
which it was designed. Granville manufactured the 
machinery. All that had to be bought in its make-up 
did not come to five dollars. He also manufactured a 
small steam engine, which has been in use every year 
since for many things, mostly to prepare the poplar wood 
shavings for weaving the sisters' basket-work. 

Thus a few years passed when it was noticed that his 
health was failing. This brought anxiety and sorrow on 
all his loving brethren and sisters. 

Knowing he must have a change of employment, they 
had him take the sisters' fancy work to the hotels at Bar 
Harbor, Orchard Beach and other places, and make 
sales. In this he was very successful, and seemed to 
gain in health. But the gain was of short duration. 



126 



THE ALETHEIA. 



With breaking hearts we saw that he was slowly and 
surely passing away from earth. 

Thinking it might be that the sudden change from 
tobacco and other things that he was accustomed to had 
been too much of a shock to his constitution, it was pro- 
posed to him to use a little tobacco. "Nay," said he, 11 1 
will never put another piece of tobacco into my mouth." 
"Not if you knew it would save your life?" said Eldress 
Hester Ann Adams. "Not if I knew it would save my 
life," was his answer. "I will keep the promise I have 
made to God." 

In the spring of 1878 he was obliged to take his room, 
being finally brought down by an abscess on his back, 
which made sure work taking his life away. 

The same spirit of purity and brotherly love continued 
to the last. He had a thought for his little boy, who 
was cared for by outside relatives. But the child was 
taken sick and died the February before. Granville had 
proposed to take him under his own care when he ar- 
rived at the age of ten years. But the death of the child 
and his own sickness intervened. And the little spirit 
was ready for his father's kind care in the beautiful life 
beyond, which we fully believe he received. 

On his bed of suffering our beloved brother was sur- 
rounded by loving friends. He saw their sorrow and 
their tears. " Grieve not for me," he said, " I will not 
leave you. I will be with you in spirit. Your interest 
will ever be mine, I will see that you have some one else 



THE STORY OF GRANVILLE MERRILL. 12 J 

to take my place." We well know that he has fulfilled 
this promise. 

On the morning of the fourth of July, 1878, came the 
silence. We had to realize all we had expected. It was a 
beautiful morning when, in the midst of the nation's re- 
joicing, he, who had ruled his own spirit, arose in majesty, 
conqueror of the world and of death. 

We had a beautiful meeting, called by some "a 
funeral," on the afternoon of the fifth of July. Then the 
outward form of our brother was laid away in our little 
cemetery. He is not there. 

He passed from our sight at the age of thirty-nine 
years, five months and thirteen days. 

The following elegy was read for him in our meeting : 

TO OUR ARISEN BROTHER, GRANVILLE MERRILL. 

Come, a voice is calling loudly, 

Come away, thy work is done. 
Come, thy cares and toils are ended, 

And thy earthly race is run. 
Brother, thou hast borne with pleasure 

All that was allotted thee ; 
Thou hast won a heavenly treasure 

In the land of purity. 

Beauty blooms all round the mansion 

Which is thine forever more, 
And the mountains rise in grandeur. 

On that bright, eternal shore, 
Trees of life are growing upward , 

Beams of glory rolling down, 
And the angel harps attuneth 

In sweet praise of thy renown. 



THE ALETHEIA. 



When, midst youthful strength and vigor 

Worldly pleasures promised thee, 
Thou didst hear the Saviour calling : 

" Leave thou all and follow me," 
Didst thou turn aside with sorrow? 

Didst thou close thine eyes and ears? 
Leave the bitter cup untasted? 

Yield to stoic doubts and fears? 

Nay, thy life was freely given, 

All thou hadst without reserve, 
Every tie of nature riven, 

God to worship and to serve. 
Wife and child, upon the altar 

Spared thou not nor worldly kin, 
Thou didst turn away from Sodom, 

Turn away from every sin. 

Thou hast trod the road of straightness 

Followed Christ along the way, 
Till this path has led thee upward 

To a bright unclouded day, 
Now, new scenes are ope before thee 

And thy angel guides are near, - 
Mighty hosts of God's redeemed, 

Lo, we feel their presence here. 

Soothing all our bitter sorrow, 

Giving peace, no tongue can tell, 
Teaching us that God is holy 

And He doeth all things well ; 
Teaching us to bow in spirit, 

To be reconciled in truth, 
That we may the prize inherit, 

Each, the aged and the youth. 

Now, we hear, in gentle whispers, 
Voices which to us are dear, — 

Voices, which are saying sweetly, 
Know, thy brother standeth near ; 




ELDER JOSEPH BRACKETT. 

r aged Father, who entered the land of rest July, 1882, being 85 years of 



" Oh the beauty of that land ! 
How divine and glorious, 
Where the saints in triumph stand 
Singing songs victorious, 
There through vernal bowers of love 
Float sweet gales of heaven ; 
And in fullness of pure bliss 
Angel joy is given." 



THE STORY OF GRANVILLE MERRILL. 



I29 



He hath words of love and comfort ; 

He hath strength he would impart ; 
Let them heal each wounded spirit ; 

Let them sink into each heart : 

" Brethren, I am with you always, 

With you to the end of time , 
I will bear with you all sorrows, 

Go with you to joys sublime. 
Sisters, in this pure relation, 

I would greet you here to-day, 
Do not feel that I have left you, 

Do not think me far away. 

" I will labor still for Zion, 

Still devoted to the cause, 
Help support her glorious standard, 

Help sustain her sacred laws. 
Lo, I feel my spirit blessed, 

Lo, I feel that love divine, 
Which to me is of more value 

Than the greatest joys of time. 

" And I thank my dear companions 

For the love you 've given me. 
O, receive my love and blessing, 

Which unmeasured flows to thee. 
I am thankful for my calling, 

Thankful for this blessed day. 
Now, with joy and pure rejoicing 

I will hasten on my way." 



9 



THE MISSION AND TESTIMONY OF THE 
SHAKERS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 
TO THE WORLD. 



A LECTURE DELIVERED AT GREEN A CRE , ELIOT, 
MAINE, JULY ig, 1904. 

It is the mission of the reaper. 

Are the fields white for the harvest ? Jesus thought 
they were in His day. 

The sharp sickle in the hands of the reaper is to cut 
souls from the generative life and garner them into the 
spiritual. 

That was the mission of Jesus, — to teach a higher life 
than the generative to the few who were able to live that 
higher life. His words were: "All cannot receive the 
saying. He that can receive it, let him receive it." 
And His meaning was, — let him subdue that animal 
nature into which the spirit of evil, an enemy, has sown 
tares. 

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself 
and take up his cross and follow me." 

"They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with 
the affections and lusts." 



MISSION AND TESTIMONY OF THE SHAKERS. I3I 

"It is a hard saying; who can hear it?" said the mur- 
muring ones. But there were those, even in that day, 
who did receive it, willingly and thankfully, who by daily 
self-denial subdued every animal passion, made their 
spirits beautiful and refined, and entered the spirit life 
purified and redeemed. 

The question is almost always propounded: "If all 
should do this, what would become of the world?" 

"Straight is the gate and narrow is the way, and few 
there be that find it." So the world is safe, as far forth 
as the cross of Christ is concerned. 

The mission and testimony of the Shakers is as much 
to those living in the marriage relation as to those who 
have a call to live above it. The trumpet speaks in 
thunder tones to those who would bring forth an off- 
spring to people the world: "Your vessels are marred 
in the potter's hands and must be made over by regener- 
ation," were the words of one of the first Shaker Elders. 

Every soul that you bring into the world must be born 
again, from the natural into the spiritual, either in this 
life or the next. 

The Shaker testimony is, to-day, and always has been, 
burning hot against the unfruitful works of darkness, and 
here is where the Cross of Christ comes in. When the 
people of the world become perfect in their generations, 
even as Noah was perfect in his, what an improvement 
there will be in the race? What noble and God-like 
men and women will become developed ! The golden 



132 THE ALETHEIA. 

age will then dawn when Christ will bring in an everlast- 
ing righteousness. 

As Buddha said to the people in his day, " Hear the 
five rules aright." So we would lay before you the 
Karma of the Christian, "Whatsoever a man soweth, 
that shall he also reap." 

And to you who are ripened for the harvest we would 
say, "Enter the Path." "For," said Buddha, "There 
spring the healing streams, quenching all thirst! There 
bloom the immortal flowers." Forsake the plain of 
nature and come up into the spiritual where Christ is. 
"They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the 
affections and lusts." You that would people the world, 
rise above the unfruitful works of darkness. Take not 
one unnecessary step to satisfy the cravings of a de- 
praved nature. 

The impress of the life you live is stamped upon your 
features. You carry all your animal desires into the 
next life. There no language is needed, and your 
thoughts will be open before thousands of spirits, with 
whom you will come in contact. You will call upon the 
rocks and the mountains to fall upon you to cover you 
from the pure eyes of the redeemed. Even here, our 
thoughts are plainly seen by both the good and the evil 
spirits who surround us. 

" Are not thousands now beholding 
Every action, word and way, 
And our very thoughts unfolding 
In the blaze of endless day ? ' ' 



MISSION AND TESTIMONY OF THE SHAKERS. 1 33 

Feticide is murder, and can never be tolerated in the 
liorit of the new heavens and the new earth which God 
is creating. Bring up your children in the nurture and 
admonition of the Lord, for you will be held accountable 
for the evils you have planted in them that may grow 
and develop. 

Messengers are now abroad in the world who are in- 
spired by the Christ. Here we find, in our beloved 
Sister Sarah Jane Farmer, a divinely inspired woman 
whom we greet in the fullness of the love of the angels 
of the New Creation of God. A voice comes to us from 
a teacher and man of God in Russia, Count Leo Tolstoi, 
condemning all those evils that would destroy the human 
race. The trumpet gives no uncertain sound. 

You send missionaries to the Far East to teach the 
people there your mistakes, when lo, and behold, there 
are those in those countries who could teach the people 
of the United States a better life than is generally lived. 
The teachings of Jesus and the life he lived are a good 
and sure test for our lives. As said the poet Whittier : 

1 1 Thou judgest us ; thy purity 
Doth all our lusts condemn ; 
The love that draws us nearer thee 
Is hot with wrath to them." 

Thus we have given you, in plain words, the Testi- 
mony of the Shakers of the twentieth century to the 
world. It is what they have lived out for more than one 
hundred and twenty-five years. Thousands of them have, 



134 THE ALETHEIA. 

by a daily cross, subdued all selfishness and every evil 
passion, and entered the next life, bright and beautiful 
spirits. 

Principles that can never be overthrown by the ad- 
vance of science have long been understood in the 
Shaker Order. 

The Duality of God, Father and Mother, Christ, the 
Divine Spirit emanating from them, able to reach and in- 
spire every soul made worthy by good works. Jesus, 
the perfect man, born of noble, human parentage, wholly 
imbued with the Christ, and the Leader into the higher 
spiritual life. 

Progression after death. The travel of the soul from 
one degree of grace and glory to another throughout the 
ages of eternity. All the souls who have ever passed 
from this life into the world of spirits, must sometime 
enter this progression and be saved by the cross, by 
walking in the straight and narrow way. 

" There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which 
the vulture's eye hath not seen. The lion's whelps have 
not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it." 

There will be a great work for the heavenly angels 
and purified spirits to do to assist those who are far from 
God, for all those lost ones must be sought out and 
drawn by love as soon as they desire to receive help. 

When the Christ Spirit becomes enthroned in any 
soul, then the work of separation will commence in that 
soul. The good from the evil; the wheat from the 



MISSION AND TESTIMONY OF THE SHAKERS. 1 35 

tares ; the sheep from the goats. To the good the soul 
will say, " Come and live and grow." To the evil the 
sentence will be: "Depart from me and be destroyed." 
No compromise with the evil. 

Jesus, inspired by the Christ, said: "I am the resur- 
rection and the life." Therefore, the fact that one is 
living the high life that Jesus lived, does away with all 
old forms and ceremonies. 

You would like to know how the Shaker Order came 
into being. I will tell you something of it in a few 
words : 

In the year 1770, Ann Lee, a young woman in Man- 
chester, England, belonged to a society called New 
Lights, originating from the Quakers. They were very 
zealous and held noisy meetings, which offended those 
of the established church. 

One Sabbath, all in that little, noisy meeting were 
arrested and imprisoned, Ann Lee with the others. She 
was married and had had four children, but they all 
died in infancy. 

While she was in prison, the spirit of Jesus came to 
her and gave her a mission to give to the world — the 
same mission and testimony that he delivered so many 
hundred years before, and the same that we give you 
to-day. 

The society and some others received her testimony. 
She remained in England about four years after this, 
when, in the words of one of the first old Shaker hymns : 



I36 THE ALETHEIA. 

1 1 The Columbian Eagle , 

Borne by an eastern breeze, 
Conveyed this little kingdom 
Across the rolling seas." 

A man of wealth, by the name of John Hocknell, be- 
lieved the testimony of Ann Lee, and was one of a com- 
pany of eight who came to America with her. They ar- 
rived in New York the 6th of August, 1774. 

John Hocknell bought land and provided them with a 
home at Watervliet, near Albany, N. Y. He remained 
faithful through life and was a great help to the Com- 
munity both financially and spiritually. Others who be- 
lieved soon came over, which made quite a little com- 
pany in the home at Watervliet. 

A religious revival was in progress at New Lebanon, 
about twenty-five miles away. Early in 1780 the sub- 
jects of the revival found out about Ann Lee, visited her 
and her people, received the Testimony and gave all 
they had to her cause. There was a great stir, and 
thousands from the country round about believed and 
became firmly established in the faith. 

Ann Lee, inspired by the Christ, taught a full conse- 
cration, and a denial of all ungodliness and every worldly 
lust. From this small beginning societies were formed 
that are now in existence. 

She was called Mother from the first, and she is our 
Mother to-day, clothed in garments of purity, brighter 
than the noonday sun. 



MISSION AND TESTIMONY OF THE SHAKERS. 1 3 7 

" O Mother ! bright in thy glory, 
We see thee, 'mid halos of light, 
Crowned in thy victory, bathed in purity, 
Thy robes are eternally white." 

Her brother, William Lee, and her adopted son, James 
Whittaker, were two of the number who came with her 
from England. They became elders and fathers to the 
people. With her and others they journeyed through 
several states of the union, holding meetings and mak- 
ing converts; often followed by persecuting mobs, but 
always sustained by an over-ruling power ; always pro- 
tected when seemingly there was no chance for life or 
limb. Their converts numbered thousands, and all this 
was done in four years' time. 

Mother Ann Lee died Sept. 8th, 1784, being forty- 
eight years of age. A little over a month previous to 
her death, occurred the death of William Lee, which 
took place July 22d. 

All the believers were now left to the care and spiritual 
guidance of Father James Whittaker. He received able 
assistance from Joseph Meacham, who was the leader in 
the revival at New Lebanon and the first to receive the 
testimony of Mother Ann in America. We call him 
Father Joseph. Father James Whittaker died July 20, 
1787. 

Soon after this, under the administration of Father 
Joseph Meacham and Mother Lucy Wright, the societies 
were organized in the different states where the word 



I38 THE ALETHEIA. 

had been planted. A covenant, or constitution was pro- 
vided by which the communities have been strongly held 
and guided to this day. 

During the years from 1800 to 1805, a great religious 
revival was in progress throughout the states of Ohio 
and Kentucky. At that time Shaker missionaries went 
there from New Lebanon and established six large 
Shaker societies. Eighteen Shaker societies, scattered 
over the United States, moved in harmonious union for 
many, years, and I may say, up to this time. We are 
less in numbers, but the power of the testimony is the 
same. Principles are eternal. 

Under the benign influence of this Order, thousands 
were reared from childhood to old age, whose lives were 
as perfect as could be lived in this world. Men and 
women, enjoying each others' society as brothers and 
sisters, loving each other with a pure,- unselfish love, as 
high above the lusts of the flesh as heaven is above the 
lower regions. 

Thus an hundred fold of fathers and mothers, brothers 
and sisters, houses and lands have been realized in this 
life, and thousands of spirits have entered the eternal 
world in clean garments, all selfishness and every evil 
passion subdued. 

We will refer to one phase in the history of the 
Order. During the year 1837 a spiritual wave rolled 
through all the Shaker societies — a powerful baptism, 
similar to that of the Day of Pentecost. The work com- 



MISSION AND TESTIMONY OF THE SHAKERS. 1 39 

menced among the children and passed along, affecting 
the youth, middle-aged and aged. It continued for 
years, and was in vogue when modern Spiritualism com- 
menced at Rochester, N. Y., 1848. The work was at its 
height in all the Shaker societies up to the year 1846, 
when it subsided in a measure, but has never entirely 
passed out. The Shakers are now, and always have 
been, ministered unto by their angel friends, who have 
passed into the next life. 

During the time of this manifestation, from 1837 on 
through the early forties, books were written by divine 
inspiration. Thousands of manuscripts were written by 
the Shaker mediums from those beyond the veil. These 
are now extant. Many are living at this time, both in 
and outside the Shaker societies, who were witnesses 
and can testify to the truth of these things. 

Marvelous was the power revealed through the Shaker 
mediums, who were mostly young brethren and sisters. 
They were inspired to speak, to write and to sing. Song 
after song they would sing, new and beautiful, both 
words and music. These songs are remembered and re- 
tained in the archives of the Shaker societies. There 
were no tipping of tables nor rappings, but the angels 
spoke to the souls of the people, and were understood. 

They were told that the work would go abroad in the 
world, and were watching for that event to take place, 
and were not at all surprised at the commencement and 
subsequent growth of modern Spiritualism. 



I40 THE ALETHEIA. 

As it stands to-day the Shakers are well aware of the 
fraud and deceit practiced by some who claim to stand in 
the ranks of Spiritualists ; but they know it will work 
itself clear and act as leaven, overthrowing false systems 
and creeds, and preparing the people for the millennium. 

Good and evil are typified by light and darkness. 
Therefore, if we bring a light into a dark room, the dark- 
ness disappears, and inasmuch as a soul is filled with 
good, evil will disappear. 

THEORY AND FACT. 

Though all things made must be destroyed, 

Though earthly kingdoms fall, 
Forever let us bear in mind 

That heaven is over all. 
And when this suffering house of clay 

Is laid beneath the sod, 
The thinking spirit shall exist. 

This is decreed of God. 
Immortal child, then mourn no more, 
But count thy many blessings o'er. 

Our earth is surrounded by thousands of elements 
which our eyes cannot see, finer than the crude air which 
we breathe, extending beyond the most distant stars 
throughout the boundless immensity of space. Of these 
elements our future spiritual homes are composed. Of 
these elements our spiritual bodies are made. 

God, our infinite Mother, created the beautiful things, 
the flowers and the singing birds, music and the visions 
which flow into the soul of the poet. She is forever 



MISSION AND TESTIMONY OF THE SHAKERS. 141 

drawing us nearer and nearer unto her beautiful Self, the 
source of elegance and refinement. She is leading us 
beside the still waters. 

Christ is the overbrooding love emanating from our 
Heavenly Father and Mother. 

Christ is the Crown which the Christian Pilgrim saw the 
Angel holding over the head of the man who was digging 
in the dirt with a muck rake, and never raising his eyes 
from his sordid employment. As he never looked up- 
ward, he did not know of the Angel, nor of the Crown, 
which he might have for his own by paying the price. 

Jesus was a perfect man, who gave his whole life to do 
good. And the Christ spirit descended upon him in the 
form of a dove and remained with him. 

The same beautiful spirit came to his disciples as the 
Comforter at the Day of Pentecost. 

Jesus was a man without fault, inspired by the Christ. 

Ann Lee was a woman without fault, inspired by the 
Christ. 

Any one can become the Christ, by subduing every 
animal passion and rising to a high and pure life. 

"They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with 
the affections and lusts." 

When I say "Christ" I mean the Spirit. 

When I say "Jesus" I mean the Man. 

Jesus was the Christ when he said, " Come unto me 
all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you 
rest," etc. 



142 THE ALETHEIA. 

Jesus was the Man when he overturned the money 
tables, and drove the people from the temple. 

He evidently regretted that rashness which so jarred 
upon His gentle Spirit, for he was soon heard to repeat 
the quotation, "The zeal for My Father's house hath 
eaten me up." 

Thousands of young women, ruined by their own and 
the lust of men, are committing suicide to cover their 
disgrace. The testimony against that depraved nature 
should be powerful enough to cause men and women to 
hate it with a perfect hatred, and to rise so high above it 
in spirit, as never to entertain one thought of indul- 
gence. 

From above the magnificence of the landscape in a 
beautiful morning, and the sublimity of the rolling waves 
of the ocean ; from above the grandeur of the rising and 
setting sun, and all the glories that this world can be- 
stow; from above all these, there cometh an inspiration, 
clothing the purified spirit in garments of beauty, reveal- 
ing the name of God written upon the forehead of the 
undefiled soul. Thus shall the Children of Light stand 
before the multitude. 

The Cross of Christ is now to be brought very closely 
home. 

The Shaker Order is founded upon three unchange- 
able principles : 

First. — Upon joining this Society, a confession of 
every sin that one has ever committed, which can be 



MISSION AND TESTIMONY OF THE SHAKERS. 1 43 

called to mind, must be made in the presence of a living 
witness of his or her own sex, one who has gone 
through the same crucial test. 

Second. — From henceforth a life above the order of 
natural generation is required in letter and in spirit. If 
one falls from this high standard he ceases to be a 
Shaker until restored by confession and repentance. 

Third. — There must be a community of interests, a 
settlement with lawful heirs of whatever property one 
has in possession, and what there is over given to the 
Society with a consecration of time and labor, for the 
good of the Cause. This is not accepted by the Society 
until one has had ample time for consideration. If, after 
this, he falls away, the Society is under no obligation to 
return to him all that he thus willingly gave, but in such 
cases a satisfactory settlement has generally been made. 

Comments relating to the preceding : 

"I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood upon Mount Zion 
and with Him an hundred, forty and four thousand," 
having the name of God written upon their foreheads. 
These are the undefiled followers of Jesus. They have 
washed their robes and made them white by living the 
life that Jesus lived. A new song is in their souls, 
which only the undefiled can learn, and all the promises 
to the overcomer are theirs, the white stone with the 
new name, etc. These have been searched as Jerusa- 
lem, with candles. 

The time is at hand when God will shake terribly the 



H4 



THE ALETHEIA. 



earth. Watch and see the creeds fall and the false 
systems overturned. He will "stain the pride of all 
flesh and bring into contempt the haughtiness of man." 
When the conscience of any one brings him to that con- 
dition that he is willing to appear before God in judg- 
ment, and in the presence of one of his fellowmen who 
has done the same work himself, make a confession of 
all his sins, he will find his pride stained and his haughti- 
ness brought into contempt. He will also find that he 
has become a child of God. 

How plain the outward mien bespeaks the mind, 

And shows the heart that 's to the will of God resigned. 

There 's love in every action, word and way, 

Which all around can feel from day to day. 

These have risen to the beautiful life of the Christ. 

Their motives all are just, their hearts are pure, 

And nothing base and vile can they endure. 

No selfishness in them can find a place. 

What greater picture can be found of Heavenly Grace ! 



CHRIST, THE SPIRIT —JESUS, THE MAN. 



I saw a light descending, 

'Twas hidden many years. 
I saw a spirit bending 

From trans-meridian spheres. 
Now brooding o'er the waters, 

That light has taken form, 
Which nineteen hundred years ago, 

Spoke peace and calmed the storm, 

The spirit form of Jesus, 

The man of God's own choice, 
Who held spell-bound the thousands 

And demons feared his voice, 
Still reigns in realms of brightness, 

The first begotten Son, 
The head of many brethren 

Who unto him have come. 

The beautiful Christ spirit 

From earth was far away, 
In waiting and in watching, 

Might have been there to-day, 
Had not this man of Israel, 

By prayer and faith and love, 
Called down this regal Spirit, 

Whose form was like a dove. 

This spirit rested on him, 
And claimed him for a son, 

'Twas then that God's true Order, 
On earth was first begun. 



THE ALETHEIA. 



Confucius, Zoroaster 

And Buddha of renown, 
Hundreds of years before that time 

Through vistas dark, looked down, 

And saw this lovely Messenger, 

On Judea's sacred plain, 
When loud, unto the nations, 

This truth did each proclaim, 
And prophesied the coming 

Of that eventful day 
When Christ should be revealed to man, 

And show the perfect way. 

That light again was hidden, 

Although so very bright, 
And darkness covered all the land, 

God's work was out of sight. 
But now it shines again on earth, 

Most beautiful to see, 
A queen is decked in royal robes 

We call her name Ann Lee. 



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